Kent Des Moines station

This article is about the future light rail station. For the commuter rail station, see Kent station (Sound Transit).

Kent Des Moines station is a future station on the 1 Line, part of Sound Transit's Link light rail system. It is to be located in western Kent, Washington, near Highline College and the intersection of State Route 99 and State Route 516. It is scheduled to open in late 2025 as part of the Federal Way Link Extension, a project to extend the 1 Line to Federal Way.

Kent Des Moines
Link light rail station
General information
Location	23461 30th Avenue South Kent, Washington United States
Coordinates	47°23′22″N 122°17′40″W
Owned by	Sound Transit
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
History
Opening	2025
Services
Preceding station Sound Transit Following station Future service Angle Lake toward Lynnwood City Center 1 Line Federal Way Extension (2025) Star Lake toward Federal Way Downtown
Location

Location

Kent Des Moines station will be 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 would be located adjacent to Highline College and have a 500-stall parking garage and several temporary surface parking lots that would be redeveloped after the extension to Federal Way opens. 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.^[1][2]

A shopping center to the south of the proposed 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.^[3][4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]