Sound Transit finalized its preferred alignment for the light rail project, which included stations at NE Pacific Street and NE 45th Street, in 1999. A surface alignment through Eastlake was also proposed in the event boring a tunnel through Capitol Hill and under Portage Bay would be too expensive. In November 1996, voters approved a condensed $3.9-billion regional transit plan that included a shorter light rail line from the University District to Downtown Seattle and SeaTac. The $6.7 billion proposal, including a light rail line continuing north from the University District to Northgate and Lynnwood, was rejected by voters in 1995 and replaced with a smaller plan. The University District was named as a major destination for the system and given two stations at NE Pacific Street and NE 45th Street on the western side of the university campus, which would be connected to Downtown Seattle via a tunnel under Capitol Hill.
In the 1990s, a regional transit authority-later Sound Transit-was formed to build a light rail system for the Seattle metropolitan area. A 1986 regional transit plan from the Puget Sound Council of Governments proposed a light rail line through the University District, including a station at the University Hospital, continuing through Eastlake to Downtown Seattle. The Forward Thrust Committee's planned regional rapid transit system, which was rejected by voters in 19, included a subway station at the University Hospital near Husky Stadium, from where trains would continue south through Capitol Hill to Downtown Seattle. In 1911, urban planner Virgil Bogue's rejected comprehensive plan for Seattle envisioned a citywide subway system, including a line serving the east side of the university campus and connected to Ravenna and eastern Capitol Hill. The University of Washington moved from its downtown campus to the north side of Portage Bay in 1895, later expanding during the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition of 1909 that was hosted at the site. The University of Washington has long-term plans to redevelop its parking lots along Montlake Boulevard into additional office and classroom space, forming the new "East Campus" area. The station is one mile (1.6 km) south of the University Village shopping center and two miles (3.2 km) southwest of Seattle Children's Hospital. The station is connected to the Montlake neighborhood by the Montlake Bridge, which carries Montlake Boulevard towards a junction with State Route 520, a major east–west freeway connecting Seattle to the Eastside suburbs. The surrounding area accommodates 15,511 jobs, constituting one of the Seattle region's major employment centers, as well as 488 residents in Montlake to the south. To the northwest is the University of Washington campus, which is accessible via the Rainier Vista bridge, the Burke-Gilman Trail, and Northeast Pacific Street. The station is situated in the parking lot of Husky Stadium, immediately east of the University of Washington Medical Center. University of Washington station is located at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard Northeast and Northeast Pacific Street in the University District of northern Seattle. The station is served by a major bus hub King County Metro and Sound Transit Express bus routes connect the University District to the Eastside region. Light rail trains serve the station twenty hours a day on most days the headway between trains is six minutes during peak periods with reduced frequency at other times. The station was the northern terminus of Line 1 until the opening of the Northgate Link Extension on October 2, 2021. University of Washington station was built as part of the University Link Extension, which began construction in 2009 and opened on March 19, 2016. A pedestrian bridge over Montlake Boulevard connects the station to the University of Washington campus and the Burke-Gilman Trail. The station consists of an underground island platform connected to a surface entrance by elevators and escalators. University of Washington station is at the intersection of Montlake Boulevard Northeast and Northeast Pacific Street, adjacent to Husky Stadium and the University of Washington Medical Center. The station is served by Line 1 of Sound Transit's Link light rail system, which connects Northgate, Downtown Seattle, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. University of Washington station is a light rail station on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, United States.