Yesterday, Monday, February 1, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that the long-awaited construction of the south Ship Canal Trail has begun. The work will extend the multi-use trail along the south side of the Ship Canal between 6th Ave W and 11th Ave W (shown as “Contract 1” on the map below), as part of the Bridging the Gap Levy, a 9-year, $365 million campaign to propel the city’s transportation effort forward through maintenance and improvement.
Construction of this project, which is also part of the Queen Anne Neighborhood Plan, includes the paving of the trail, the clearing and removing of railroad ties and rails, the installation of several low retaining walls, and the installation of a chain link fence and wheel stops.
The work is expected to be completed by mid-March, should not significantly impact travelers near the path. Work on “Contract 2”, which will link the trail from 11th Ave to Emerson St and Fisherman’s Terminal, is expected to begin later this year. According to Supervising Project Manager at SDOT Stuart Goldsmith, the second phase of the project cannot be completed “Until we can work out a construction schedule with BNSF Railway and get them to issue permits for the private utility line that needs to be relocated so that the tracks can be moved to make way for the trail.” SDOT says this will ideally happen sometime in 2010.
Once the both contracts along the Ship Canal Trail – a 3/4 mile stretch in all – are finished, SDOT says “A critical gap in Seattle’s urban trail system will be eliminated.” Finishing the Ship Canal Trail will complete the Queen Anne Bicycle Beltway, creating a bike path that encircles Queen Anne hill and makes biking from Redmond to downtown Seattle almost entirely on dedicated cycling paths possible.
We’ll keep you updated and the project progresses.
(Thanks to Allie and SDOT for the image!)