Bridging Bellevue’s I-90 Gap on the 42-Mile Eastrail
- The Eastrail is about to grow thanks to the 2026 opening of the Wilburton Trestle and $25 million in federal funding to bridge Bellevue’s I-90 gap.
- We biked Eastrail's longest completed segment to review progress and visit the new Northeast Eighth Avenue bike bridge where murals depict Bellevue’s history of Japanese American internment.
- Eastrail will form the backbone of a regional trail network when completed in 2030, but an effort to repeal the Climate Commitment Act threatens funding.
- The Cascade and WA Bikes Boards recently endorsed No on 2117 to protect trail progress.
Paul Tolmé
People eager for completion of the 42-mile Eastrail received great news recently with the announcement of $30 million in federal funding to close the Interstate 90 trail gap in Bellevue and extend the Eastrail northward through Woodinville.
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grants announced by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and the Biden Administration in June will:
- provide $25 million to upgrade an old steel railroad bridge over I-90 in Bellevue and build 1.7 miles of paved trail that will enable people to bike over 16 lanes of I-90 traffic. Learn more from King County Parks.
- provide $5 million to extend the Eastrail northward through Woodinville, where railroad tracks were removed last year in preparation for completing about two miles of trail that will extend to Snohomish County. Learn more from the City of Woodinville.
These two projects represent a huge step forward in the effort to complete the Eastrail by 2030. When it’s finished, people will be able to bike 42 miles from Gene Coulon Park at the trail’s southern terminus near Renton through downtown Bellevue, crossing over I-90 and Interstate 405, continuing through Kirkland all the way through Woodinville.
“Eastrail will be a major artery for active transportation and recreation that connects our biggest population hubs on the Eastside, allowing more people to bike, walk, roll, and connect with Sound Transit’s new Eastside light rail stations,” says Davíd Urbina, Cascade’s Puget Sound policy and community rides manager.
Urbina represents Cascade on the Leafline Trails Coalition, which is working to link 450 miles of trails throughout the Puget Sound region. The Eastrail will be a backbone of the Leafline trail network, connecting to trails in Snohomish County, Seattle, Renton and beyond.
“Completing the Eastrail is a big deal,” Urbina says. “It will allow more people to travel car-free throughout our region to get to doctor’s appointments, work, and see friends–improving equity, reducing climate pollution, and promoting public health.”
Riding the Eastrail
Built on a historic rail corridor, about 18 miles of the Eastrail are currently bikeable. To get a bike rider’s perspective on the trail’s progress, I rode the Eastrail’s northern half with Urbina and Colin Petkus, community collaborations manager for the nonprofit Eastrail Partners. Cascade is a member of the Eastrail Regional Advisory Council.
Our first stop was the Wilburton Trestle, a historic 1,000-foot-long, 100-foot-tall railroad bridge in Bellevue. Work is underway to turn the majestic wooden structure into an 18-foot-wide multi-use trail. King County hopes to complete the project in 2026.
The trestle’s completion will add about four miles to the Eastrail by connecting to a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405 that was built by the Washington State Department of Transportation. See King County’s photo album of the Wilburton Trestle.
People riding south on Eastrail currently hit a dead end at the intersection of Northeast Fourth Avenue, where fences block access to the Wilburton Trestle while construction continues. People who want to bike southward around this gap to reach the southern portion of the Eastrail must detour onto Bellevue streets.
Petkus from Eastrail Partners provided a Ride with GPS map, Eastrail North to South Connection, for getting around the Bellevue trail gap. “It has bike lanes for much of the route, and some sharrow sections,” he says.
Northeast 8th Avenue Bridge
Departing from the Wilburton Trestle construction zone, we pedaled northward and stopped at the new bike and pedestrian bridge over Northeast Eighth Avenue, one of the busiest traffic corridors in Bellevue.
Opened in June, the bridge enables people to cross over six lanes of traffic and provides an important connection to the new Wilburton Link light rail station located beside the bridge, which is adorned with murals and educational plaques that detail the region’s racist past.
During World War II, Japanese residents who owned strawberry farms in the area were rounded up and put on trains bound for internment camps where the U.S. government imprisoned about 120,000 Japanese Americans.
“They were actually put on trains here along the Eastrail,” Petkus says. “It’s very much part of the history of our railway that it was used to ship people away to concentration camps.”
The bridge and its murals are an important reminder of the systemic racism and theft of land that shaped our nation and modern Bellevue. Learn more about the bridge and its artwork from King County.
Pedaling northward on the Eastrail, we passed the Northup Connector bridge that opened in December, linking the Eastrail to the SR-520 Trail that connects Seattle to Redmond. Learn more about the Northup Connector.
We ride onward through Kirkland to the Totem Lake Connector that opened in 2023, allowing people to bike over one of Kirkland’s busiest intersections.
From the Totem Lake Connector, the Eastrail continues for 3.2 miles toward Woodinville’s Tourist District, ending at 145th Street. From here, you can connect with the Sammamish River Trail that connects with the Burke-Gilman and East Lake Sammamish trails.
The Eastrail corridor after 145th remains covered in railroad ballast. Woodinville will use the $5 million federal RAISE grant to plan and design the trail segment from Wilmot Gateway Park to the Snohomnish County line. Completing this segment opens the possibility of connecting to the Snohomish Centennial Trail.
The next several years will bring big progress to the Eastrail, which is to receive about $29 million in funding from the state’s Climate Commitment Act. But an effort to repeal the historic climate law threatens that funding.
Climate Commitment Act Repeal Risk
In November, voters will be asked to vote yes or no on Initiative-2117 to repeal the Climate Commitment Act, which has raised billions of dollars for climate action, equity initiatives, and sustainable transportation projects including $18 million to close the Interstate 90 gap and complete the Eastrail corridor through Bellevue.
The Cascade Bicycle Club and Washington Bikes Boards of Directors recently voted to endorse No on 2117 to protect access to bicycling, clean air, and a healthy environment.
Katherine Hollis, executive director of Eastrail Partners, says there is a “high risk” of losing that $18 million if voters repeal the Climate Commitment Act. Here are some of the other Eastrail projects at risk from the repeal effort:
- $6 million to acquire land to extend the southern end of Eastrail into Gene Coulon Park. Extending the trail through Gene Coulon Park opens the possibility for connecting the Eastrail to the Interurban and Maple Valley Trails in Renton.
- $5 million for the SR-202 trestle widening in Woodinville.
- Check out the clickable map here to see other projects statewide that would be threatened if the Climate Commitment Act is repealed.
Let’s Complete the Eastrail
Cascade was instrumental in kickstarting the effort to turn the former rail corridor into a trail, helping to create and co-lead the Eastside Greenway Alliance in 2016 that gathered community support and led to the formation of Eastrail Partners and the current vision of the trail as an active transportation corridor for the Eastside.
We advocate for the timely completion of Eastrail to enable more people to safely travel by bike.
Eastrail Facts:
- About 18 of the 42 miles are completed, with the longest span of about 11 miles stretching from N.E. 4th Ave in Bellevue to 145th St. in Woodinville.
- The Wilburton Trestle is projected to open in 2026, closing a three-mile gap.
- On the south end, the Eastrail currently ends just before Gene Coulon Park along Mountain View Avenue North. To continue south into Renton, take North 33rd Street to the bike lane on Lake Washington Boulevard North.
- Link to Eastrail interactive map.
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