Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority

Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, doing business as Sound Transit, is a U.S. local government transit authority and regional public transportation agency that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient to operate and expand multi-modal transit infrastructure serving the greater Seattle metropolitan area across King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties in Washington. Sound Transit competes exclusively under full-and-open federal grant programs; the agency does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor.

Sound Transit's federal footprint centers on capital and operating grants from the Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration, which accounts for 212 of 234 recent awards. The agency delivers bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail, and streetcar systems throughout its service region, with recent grant work spanning light rail station construction and design, rolling stock procurement and maintenance, bus rapid transit corridor development, and transit security enhancements. Representative recent grant awards include a $184.056 million Federal Transit Formula Grant (CFDA 20.507) for construction of two transit centers—Tukwila International Boulevard Station and South Renton Transit Center—on the new STRIDE bus rapid transit line on I-405 South and SR 518; a $84.040 million State of Good Repair Grant (CFDA 20.525) for preventive maintenance of rail rolling stock for the Sounder commuter rail and Link light rail systems; a $38.586 million Federal Transit Formula Grant for preliminary engineering and design of the Operations and Maintenance Facility South (OMFS) project to support expanded light rail service to Tacoma, West Seattle, and throughout South King County; and a $20.882 million Federal Transit Formula Grant for preliminary engineering and design of the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, approximately 10 miles of elevated guideway with four new light rail stations between Federal Way and Tacoma.

The Federal Transit Administration dominates Sound Transit's customer base. The Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary Transportation represents the second-largest source by potential value, with 6 awards totaling $27.4 million in cooperative agreements under the Regional Infrastructure Accelerators Program (CFDA 20.523) for transit-oriented development design and advanced joint development strategies supporting West Seattle, Ballard, and Tacoma Link extensions. Federal Emergency Management Agency contributes 8 awards ($573 thousand and $5.927 million for transit security enhancements and rail and transit security grant program funding, CFDA 97.075). The Federal Highway Administration awarded 4 grants under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program for commuter rail double-tracking and TIFIA program development in the Pacific Northwest high-speed rail corridor. EPA Region 10 provided 1 award under air-quality improvement programs for locomotive engine replacement on the Sounder commuter rail system.

Activity has grown modestly with a spike in 2023—7 awards in 2022, 17 in 2023, 8 in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 awards to date in 2026. Seventeen awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months face recompete, representing significant recompetition exposure for major light rail extension, bus rapid transit construction, and capital asset maintenance grants. Sound Transit executes all funded activities directly as the prime recipient; the source indicates no subrecipient activities across the grant portfolio. Work is performed in Washington, with administrative oversight at the agency's Seattle headquarters (401 S Jackson Street). The agency receives formula funding sub-allocated from the Seattle urbanized area and competitive discretionary grants. Federal dollars obligated ($15.5 billion) vastly exceed combined potential value ($36.3 million) due to large COVID-relief operating grants and accounting for prior-year obligations; the figure reflects cumulative obligated funding across the full award history in the source.