 Tukwila city leaders were also concerned that route bypassed the important shopping district around Southcenter Mall.Beginning in early 1999, the light rail program became beset with problems that mired Sound Transit and local governments in political ire.In late February 1999, a financial analysis stated that building light rail out as far as Northgate might not be possible for over a dozen years due to decreases in the amount of federal grant money available to local transit authorities and Seattle-North King County having used so much of its local taxing authority and ability to borrow money to pay for light rail.