Kent Des Moines station

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Wikipedia

 66  Kent Des Moines
General information
Location23461 30th Avenue South
Kent, Washington
United States
Coordinates47°23′22″N 122°17′40″W / 47.38944°N 122.29444°W / 47.38944; -122.29444
SystemLink light rail station
Owned bySound Transit
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeElevated
History
OpeningDecember 6, 2025
Services
Preceding station Sound Transit Following station
Link
Angle Lake
toward Lynnwood City Center
 1 Line Star Lake
toward Federal Way Downtown
Location

Kent Des Moines station is a station on the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It is located in western Kent, Washington, near Highline College and the intersection of State Route 99 and State Route 516. It opened on December 6, 2025, as part of the Federal Way Link Extension, a project that extended the 1 Line to Federal Way.[1][2]

Location

Kent Des Moines station is an elevated structure above 30th Avenue South, east of State Route 99 (Pacific Highway) near its intersection with State Route 516 (Kent-Des Moines Road). The station is located adjacent to Highline College and has a 500-stall parking garage and several temporary surface parking lots that are planned to be redeveloped. The area around the station is planned to be redeveloped with transit-oriented mixed-use development under the "Envision Midway" plan proposed by the city of Kent.[3][4]

A shopping center to the south of the station was considered for the line's operations and maintenance facility, but the Kent city government passed a zoning ordinance in January 2019 to prevent its use—in part because the shopping center includes a recently opened Dick's Drive-In.[5][6]

In 2022, the station was officially named Kent Des Moines, replacing its working name of Kent/Des Moines. The name was recommended ahead of Highline station and Highline College station following public polling.[7] The extension's opening was delayed to late 2025 due to construction issues on the section between Kent Des Moines and Star Lake stations; a potential early opening for Kent Des Moines was discussed at a Sound Transit meeting in 2023 due to the expected completion of the station in late 2024.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Deshais, Nicholas (December 6, 2025). "New light rail stations open with South King County party". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (August 28, 2025). "Light rail coming to Federal Way in December". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Sound Transit Board identifies preferred alternative for light rail extension to Kent/Des Moines, Federal Way" (Press release). Sound Transit. July 23, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ Hunter, Steve (October 29, 2015). "Kent light rail station proposed for east of Pacific Highway". Kent Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hunter, Steve (January 17, 2019). "Kent City Council opposes light rail yard at Lowe's, Dick's Drive-In sites". Kent Reporter. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ Krell, Alexis (January 17, 2019). "A Dick's Drive-In just opened in Kent. Sound Transit might take it away". The News Tribune. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  7. ↑ Hunter, Steve (June 27, 2022). "Sound Transit approves light rail station names in Kent, Federal Way". Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  8. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (May 26, 2023). "Wetlands bridge adds delay and $72 million to light-rail project". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 5, 2023.