Willows Road Regional Trail Connection Completed

Published on October 08, 2021

Willows Trail Opening Image

Christian Knight
Neighborhood Services Coordinator 
cknight@kirklandwa.gov
(425) 587-3831

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Local and state leaders celebrated the completion of a new multi-modal path that connects Kirkland to Redmond and Woodinville on October 6, 2021. The Willows Road Regional Trail Connection covers the 1,800-foot gap between the northern terminus of the Cross Kirkland Corridor and the Redmond Central Connector and Sammamish River Trails. It makes possible a 42-mile multi-modal corridor that, when completed, will stretch from Renton to Snohomish. 

“The spine of our growing network is a 100-foot-wide corridor that stretches along most of the City’s length,” said Kirkland Mayor Penny Sweet. “We’ve been racing to connect that corridor to our neighborhoods, schools, parks and commercial centers. And now, with this project, we are connecting it to the region.”

King County plans to complete construction on the Eastrail’s Valley Segment—the section of trail between Kirkland and Woodinville—by the end of this year. The 11-foot-wide path parallels Willows Road Northeast to its intersection with Northeast 124th Street, where the Redmond Central Connector picks up. It includes a stormwater vault, which captures runoff from nearby streets and roofs and releases it slowly, thereby reducing the path’s impact on nearby streams. Because of this, the connection received significant support from the state legislature which allocated $2.5 million in 2018 toward its construction.

“It covers a fundamental multi-modal gap between Kirkland’s urban center and Woodinville’s wine country,” said Mayor Sweet. “We are exceptionally proud of this accomplishment and we could not have done it without the support of the Transportation Improvement Board, the Washington State Legislature and more specifically, Greg Armstrong, Ashley Probart and Senator Manka Dhingra, Representative Roger Goodman, and Deputy Majority Leader Larry Springer.”

For more information about the project, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/willowsconnection.

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