Summary

King County Parks will be able to complete two key segments of Eastrail in Bellevue – including the iconic Wilburton Trestle – thanks to a $7.5 million investment by Amazon, Executive Constantine announced today.

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King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced that a $7.5 million investment by Amazon will help King County Parks complete two key segments of an emerging 42-mile regional trail – including the Wilburton Trestle in Bellevue – which will connect to four Sound Transit East Link light rail stations.

The transformed century-old, 1,000-foot-long Wilburton Trestle will offer skyline views of Bellevue, connections to other regional trails and high-capacity transit, and will be an icon for Eastrail, the growing north-south trail corridor connecting communities across the Eastside. 

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"Amazon's contribution puts us over the top, providing the remaining funds we need to restore and transform the iconic Wilburton Trestle into an elevated trail connected to high-capacity transit," said Executive Constantine. "The successful partnership to add the century-old trestle to our growing regional trail network shows that we are most effective when we mobilize the efforts of public and private sectors to achieve shared goals."

The two new segments are expected to be completed in 2024, soon after Sound Transit is scheduled to open four new Link light rail stations along Eastrail. It will also offer convenient access to bus rapid transit in Renton as well as viewing decks.

"Amazon is excited to help complete these two key segments on the Eastrail and bring this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reality," said Patrick Miller, Amazon's director of Global Real Estate and Facilities for the Puget Sound region. "It is an honor to be part of this public-private partnership and we appreciate our collaboration with King County and all of the public agencies involved."

The total project cost to convert the 100-foot-tall Wilburton Trestle into a segment of Eastrail is $32 million. Amazon’s combined $7.5 million in investments include $5 million to complete Wilburton Trestle and $2.5 million to complete the nearby Wilburton Trail Segment.

Eastrail will eventually offer 42 miles of uninterrupted trail from Renton to Snohomish County with a spur to Redmond. It will be the north-south spine of Leafline, a Central Puget Sound regional trail network that will connect King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties. 

In partnership with WSDOT, King County Parks is scheduled to open another 2.5-mile segment of Eastrail this fall, connecting Renton to Bellevue and featuring three waterfront parks along Lake Washington. Eastrail will connect to Interstate 90 and the State Route 520 trails with additional trail connections coming online as more Eastrail segments are completed. 

Eastrail is owned and managed by King County Parks, the cities of Kirkland, Redmond and Woodinville, Snohomish County, Sound Transit, and Puget Sound Energy. It was started with the shared goal to create an integrated, multi-use corridor through the spine of East King County. 

King County Parks acquired Wilburton Trestle in 2013 part of Eastrail acquisitions. The wooden trestle, built in 1904 by Northern Pacific Railway, contributed to the economic growth of the region, first used by trains to haul locally logged timber to mills and ports and later serving, among other uses, as a transportation corridor for airplane fuselages to Boeing’s Renton facility.

Relevant links

• Eastrail
• VIDEO: Full news conference footage
• VIDEO: Aerial footage of Wilburton Trestle
• PHOTOS: Gallery of images from the news conference
• King County Regional Trail System

Quotes

Amazon's contribution puts us over the top, providing the remaining funds we need to restore and transform the iconic Wilburton Trestle into an elevated trail connected to high-capacity transit. The successful partnership to add the century-old trestle to our growing regional trail network shows that we are most effective when we mobilize the efforts of public and private sectors to achieve shared goals.

Amazon is excited to help complete these two key segments on the Eastrail and bring this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reality. It is an honor to be part of this public-private partnership and we appreciate our collaboration with King County and all of the public agencies involved.

Making the Eastrail a world-class trail requires exceptional community, governmental, and private sector support. This extraordinary investment by Amazon demonstrates the important role business can play in this multifaceted effort and will make opening the Wilburton segment of Eastrail possible. Amazon understands the integral role Eastrail will play for community and business alike through transit options and public greenspace, and we are grateful for their partnership.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Doug Williams, Department of Natural Resources and Parks, 206-477-4543