Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s transportation issues to explore the policies and politics that determine how we get around and how billions of dollars in public money are spent.

Sound Transit revealed Thursday that its long-term costs are expected to soar by 20% to 25% as the agency deals with runaway construction inflation and modernization projects to make train service more dependable.

Dual scissor blades of rising costs and falling tax revenues will force the agency to confront painful decisions, such as whether to shorten future lines, drop some stations, or make existing two- to five-year delays to open new stations even longer.

Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine said this spring that “everything is on the table,” and he hopes a fresh look will i

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