Rick Larsen tours Swift II route

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen took a tour of Community Transit's proposed Swift II Bus Rapid Transit line today, and took a Blue Friday photo with employees to support the Seahawks.

Community Transit last month received Federal Transit Administration approval to move forward with project development of the second Swift line, which would run between Canyon Park in Bothell and Paine Field/Boeing in Everett. Project development includes further route design and environmental review and must be completed before the agency applies for federal Small Starts funding to build the project. If all goes according to plan, Swift II could be operational in 2018.

"You can't have a big league economy with a little league infrastructure," Larsen said of the need for improved federal funding for transportation projects like Swift. "It's the difference between being Super Bowl champions and being the Washington D.C. football team."

As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Larsen said he is involved in writing a new Surface Transportation Authorization bill that would fund programs like Small Starts, which transit agencies rely on to fund small-to-midsized capital projects.

After addressing employees at Community Transit's Merrill Creek base in Everett, Larsen joined them for a Blue Friday photo in front of a Swift bus before taking his tour of the route.