NE 85th Street Shared-Use Pathway - 6th Street to 405 Improvements

a map showing two detour options for the ckc closure at ne 85th street.

The City of Kirkland is using Sound Transit funds to build a shared-use pedestrian and bicycle path along Northeast 85th Street that will connect Kirkland's downtown to the new Bus Rapid Transit interchange on I-405. The route also connects to the South Rose Hill/Bridle Trails Neighborhood via the Northeast 80th Street Pedestrian bridge over I-405 and the North Rose Hill Neighborhood via the Northeast 100th Street Pedestrian Bridge over I-405.

Description of Improvements

Kirkland will build the path along the south side of Northeast 85th Street, between Sixth Street and 114th Avenue Northeast by building walls to increase the width of Northeast 85th Street. A "pedestrian bridge" will be constructed over the short section of the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail that crosses underneath Northeast 85th Street. During construction of the pedestrian bridge section, there will be a detour for users of the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Since the project adds additional impervious surface for the shared-use path, it builds a new stormwater detention vault near 6th Street. Additionally, the project adds pedestrian lighting throughout the project for the safety and visibility of the shared-use path users.

Traffic and Pedestrian Route Impacts

It is anticipated that Northeast 85th Street will be reduced to a single lane eastbound from Peter Kirk Park to 114th Avenue Northeast, and a single lane westbound to downtown Kirkland from 114th Avenue Northeast to Sixth Street. During construction of the pedestrian bridge section, there will be a detour for users of the Cross Kirkland Corridor (CKC).

Tree removal and Mitigation

There will be significant tree removal to build the project. Regarding the tree replacements, Kirkland is following our tree code. We will plant street trees along Northeast 85th Street and add evergreen trees to the Cross Kirkland Corridor, but there is not space to replant all required tree replacements within the project site. The project will pay into the City's fee-in-lieu program which plants trees throughout Kirkland to maintain our tree canopy to fulfill the required mitigation ratio.

Will there be a connection to the CKC?

Not with this project due to the elevation of the roadway compared to the CKC. Two existing, nearby trail connections are located to the north at 7th Avenue/Northeast 87th Street & 112th Avenue Northeast as well as to the south at 6th Street South & 5th Place South adjacent to Feriton Spur Park.

It’s so steep, what are the grades and is it ADA compliant?

The grade of the shared-use path is approximately 6%. Typically, if feasible, a pedestrian access route running slope should be designed less than 5% grade. However, the path is ADA compliant because of the exception in PROWAG that allows the path to match the grade of the adjacent street, even if the grade exceeds 5%.

Preamble D. Chapter 3: Technical Requirements; Grade

Where pedestrian access routes are contained within a street or highway right-of-way, the grade of the pedestrian access route shall not exceed 1:20 (5.0%). An exception permits the grade of the pedestrian access route to not exceed the grade established for the adjacent street or highway, where the grade established for that adjacent street or highway exceeds 1:20 (5.0%) (R302.4.1).

Why isn’t there seating?

Along with not being part of the original scope, seating areas typically require level landings and adjustments to the grading of the path to provide flatter grades (and steeper grades to make up for these flat areas), would make the path non-ADA compliant.

Previous Weekly Updates

(July 3, 2025) -- Work begins Monday on this transformative pathway project. Expect traffic impacts and delays. Nearby streets will see increased traffic.

(June 13, 2025) -- Work is now expected to begin on this project on Monday, July 7. Traffic control will be set that week reducing NE 85th Street to one-lane in each direction for the duration of the project. Tree removal will follow traffic control measures.

(June 12, 2025) -- Work is now expected to begin on this project on Monday, June 23. Traffic control will be set that week reducing NE 85th Street to one-lane in each direction for the duration of the project. Tree removal is expected by mid-July.

(June 5, 2025)-- Staff are preparing for the pre-construction meeting, and expect construction to begin in early summer. One of the first (and most noticeable) tasks will be the tree removal to create the space for the shared-use pathway on the south side of NE 85th Street. The lane reduction of NE 85th Street is expected to begin after the Fourth of July weekend.

(May 29, 2025)-- City staff expect construction to begin as early as June 16. One of the first (and most noticeable) tasks will be the tree removal to create the space for the shared-use pathway on the south side of NE 85th Street.

(May 22, 2025)-- City staff expect construction to begin by summer on this one-year pedestrian and bicycle improvement project. Information on this project was presented to the Kirkland Kiwanis Club at it's May 14 meeting.

(May 15, 2025)--Check out the project video for NE 85th Street Shared-use pathway from 6th Street to I-405.

(Apr. 17, 2025)--Check out the project video for NE 85th Street Shared-use pathway from 6th Street to I-405.

(Apr. 10, 2025)-- Outreach staff are working on a social media push for public notification of this project. Project video coming soon...

(Apr. 3, 2025)--This project was presented to the Downtown Merchant's meeting of the Kirkland Downtown Association on Tuesday, April 1. Outreach staff are working on a social media push for public notification of this project.

(Mar. 20, 2025) --The construction contract was awarded by City Council on Tuesday, March 18. City staff will begin the contracting and administrative pre-construction process.

(Mar. 6, 2025) --This project bid is headed to City Council on Tuesday, March 18. If council approves the contract award memo, City staff will begin the contracting and administrative pre-construction process.

(Feb. 27, 2025) -- This project was presented to the Transportation Commission at it's 2/26/25 meeting and the Kirkland Rotary at it's 2/24/25 meeting.

(Feb. 2025) -- The construction contract is headed to City Council for award. Construction is expected to begin this spring.

(Nov. 7, 2024) -- This project is expected to go "out to bid" in January for 2025-2026 construction.

(Feb. 27, 2024) -- The timeline for the Northeast 85th Street multi-modal path is undetermined, at this point, pending funding.

November-2024-aerial-image-of-NE-85th-Street-all-the-way-to-Lake-Washington.jpg

(JPG, 15MB)

November 2024 aerial image of NE 85th Street showing the bridge over the CKC — November-2024-aerial-image-of-NE-85th-Street-bridge-over-the-CKC.jpg

(JPG, 27MB)

Location

Central Way and Sixth Street, 98033 View Map

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Discussions

Timeline

Design

Fall 2022 - Winter 2024

Construction

Spring 2025-Summer 2026

Weekly Update

(July 17, 2025) -- The CKC trail closure from NE 85-87th Streets begins tomorrow. Guardrail removal on NE 85th Street is underway, and tree felling is expected soon. Project Manager Kimberly Coraza, P.E., presented an update to City Council at it's July 15 meeting.

(July 9, 2025) -- The CKC trail will be closed as early as July 18 for an extended, months-long closure. Detour map is posted to this webpage, and will be on site from July 18. Traffic control on NE 85th Street was installed smoothly, and next noticeable steps besides the trail closure are potholing and tree felling.

Updates to this page are posted every Thursday.

Contact Us

Kimberly Coraza

Project Engineer

425-587-3244

kcoraza@kirklandwa.gov

Rosalie Wessels

Community Engagement Coordinator

425-587-3877

rwessels@kirklandwa.gov