SEATTLE — Sound Transit has released an animated flyover of its planned West Seattle Link Extension as the project reaches a new design milestone, offering a view of the proposed route and the soil layers engineers expect to encounter along part of the tunnel. The extension has reached 30% design, the agency announced Friday, Oct. 9. The milestone moves the project toward final design, but the route and features shown in the animation remain part of a project still under development. Sound Transit is planning to open the line in 2035. The 3D model follows the proposed alignment from SODO to Alaska Junction in West Seattle. It incorporates design decisions made through July 2026 and geotechnical information collected during fieldwork. Along the tunnel segment leading to Alaska Junction, the model illustrates soil layers based on local ground conditions. Sound Transit estimates that once the extension connects West Seattle to the regional light-rail network, a trip between Alaska Junction and Westlake would take about 16 minutes, compared with roughly 30 minutes today. The agency says the connection would also give riders faster access to downtown Seattle and other destinations across the system. The planned line would add a rail link for West Seattle residents, where trips to downtown and connections to the broader transit network can take longer than the projected rail journey. The agency’s travel-time figure is an estimate for the future service, not a current trip time guarantee.