Link has been EXPENSIVE, even by US standards (and the USA does an awful job of controlling costs in transit projects; even Sweden, not exactly a low-wage country, does markedly better). But not all the expense has been due to poor cost control: Link was also built through existing, densely-developed areas, and it’s mostly grade-separated, with significant tunneled sections. Being built through existing dense neighborhoods really helped ridership, as has Seattle’s famously terrible traffic congestion. If you are going from the University of Washington to Downtown, the train is easily the fastest way. The system in many cases basically sells itself now that it’s there to use. That said, from Northgate northwards, Link follows I-5, which shows that freeway stations are not necessarily a kiss of death (again, the famously bad traffic congestion helps here). East Link will also parallel I-90 from Seattle to Bellevue (I-90 was designed for rail transit when it was built).

Let's hope you have better fortune than they do on the injury front! Yikes!

If your in Portland, winter now ends April 13th.

18z Euro AI looks slightly worse so far though still not bad. Just needs to trend west with that trough to the east of us.