Edmonds begins construction on missing link of Interurban Trail

Teresa Wippel, publisher of MyEdmondsNews.com, reports that work has begun on the Edmonds section of the Interurban Trail, running from the intersection at N 205th and Meridian Ave N (SR 104 and 76th Ave W) to 228th St in Mountlake Terrace.

Map courtesy City of Edmonds via MyEdmondsNews.com

The first stage includes erosion control work, including installation of catch basic protection.

The Interurban Trail Project will complete the missing link for the 30 mile trail. The Shoreline section is complete, running the length of the city, from NE 145 to NE 205. There is no indication that Seattle plans to work on their north Seattle section any time soon.

The following is from the MyEdmondsNews article:

The $2.4 million project — with $1.3 million coming from state and federal grant funds — is scheduled to be completed “on a 120-day construction cycle,” Haus said. Adding time for weather and other unexpected delays, work is likely to be finished in early 2012."

Currently, bicyclists who follow the Interurban Trail north from Shoreline are directed along 76th Avenue West, where there are no official bicycle lanes. When the Edmonds link is complete, cyclists and pedestrians will have the choice of continuing along 76th, where a bike lane will be added both east and westbound. (Parking will be alternated between the east and west sides of 76th to accommodate the bike lane, which will be tapered in and out around the parking.)

Artist's rendition of Ballinger Station.  Courtesy My Edmonds News

Those who want a more scenic (and slower) route can leave 76th at the PUD crossing near McAleer Way, and will be able to take a breather at Ballinger Station, a landscaped rest area for users of the Interurban Trail. Highlights include a drinking fountain, an open shelter with a park bench and two interpretive historical panels that tell the story of the Interurban Trolley Line, which ran from Seattle to Everett until 1939.

A spur trail heading west from this location will also be built to Mathey Ballinger Park, using the PUD crossing at 76th Avenue West with a 12-foot trail through what is now power line right-of-way.

The McAleer Way entrance will be marked with bollards and then follow a 12-foot-wide paved trail that will be built along the power line right-of-way that runs between homes just off McAleer, rejoining the street at 74th Avenue West. (A marked crosswalk and a four-way stop will be added here to slow down vehicle traffic.)

The trail will continue lakeside along 74th Avenue West, which will be paved with new asphalt and striped with a walking area for pedestrians on the east side and shared use for cars and bicycles on the west. The roadway currently varies in width from 12 feet to 20 feet, so the goal will be to widen it to 20 feet. Retaining walls will built along the route as necessary to protect trail users.

Three sets of speed cushions (wide enough to slow cars but narrow enough to allow speedy passage of fire trucks), will be installed along this portion of the 74th as a safety measure.

In the final section of the Edmonds trail, users will be directed along a now-unpaved portion of 74th (commonly referred to as an alley). That street will be paved and widened from 12 feet to 15 feet to accommodate access by bicyclists, local residents with driveways on the street, and garbage trucks. From there, the trail will exit to a crosswalk at 228th Street Southwest, and rejoin the already-completed Mountlake Terrace portion.