Friday, April 18, 2014

Construction on North Sammamish stretch of East Lake Sammamish Trail starts April 21

The gap is shrinking in King County’s 175-mile regional trail system, as King County Parks begins construction on improvements to the North Sammamish segment of the East Lake Sammamish (ELST).

Starting April 21, this 2.5-mile-long segment will be closed from 187th Avenue Northeast to Northeast Inglewood Hill Road.

Safety is King County’s top priority during trail construction, and because of the extensive amount of work, narrow corridor, steep terrain, and limited access, this segment will be closed for approximately one year. Trail users are advised to find alternate routes around the closed portion. Read More >>


Nearby East Lake Sammamish Parkway features both bike lanes and sidewalks for ELST users who want to travel along the eastern shoreline of the lake and around the closed stretch of trail. For recreation, trail users are encouraged to visit other trails in King County’s 175-mile regional trail system.

Safety and accessibility for all trail users will be improved with a new, 12-foot-wide paved corridor with 2-foot-wide soft surface shoulders on each side, enhanced intersections, clear sight lines, four fish passable culverts, retaining walls, improved drainage and landscaping.

The contractor for this project is Tri-State Construction, and the estimated cost of completing the North Sammamish segment is $6.2 million.

Funding is provided by the voter-approved 2014-19 Parks, Trails and Open Space Replacement Levy, as well as by grants from the Transportation Enhancements Program, the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program and state Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program.

This project is the third segment of the ELST to be converted from the interim soft-surface trail to the finished master-planned trail. The Redmond segment was completed in 2011, and the Issaquah segment was completed in June 2013. The South Sammamish segment will be constructed in two phases, following completion of the North Sammamish portion of the trail.

King County purchased the 11-mile-long East Lake Sammamish rail banked corridor in 1998. An interim soft-surface trail was completed and opened to the public in 2006.

The ELST follows a historic railroad route along the eastern shore of Lake Sammamish within the cities of Redmond, Sammamish and Issaquah. Part of the “Locks to Lakes Corridor,” the trail follows an off-road corridor along the lake and through lakeside communities.

Once the ELST is fully developed, it will be part of a 44-mile-long regional urban trail corridor from Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood to Issaquah. More information is available at www.kingcounty.gov/eastlakesammamishtrail.

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King County Parks - Your Big Backyard - offers more than 200 parks and 26,000 acres of parks and natural lands, including such regional treasures as Marymoor Park and Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, 175 miles of regional trails, 180 miles of backcountry trails and a world-class aquatic center. By cultivating strong relationships with non-profit, corporate and community partners, King County Parks enhances park amenities while reducing costs. Learn more at http://www.kingcounty.gov/parks/.

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