Today SDOT announced the competition of Phase 2, Contract 1 of the Ship Canal Trail, extending the paved bike path that begins on the south shore of the Fremont Bridge to 11th Ave W.
Construction on this phase of the project began back in February, and has wrapped up right on schedule, getting the path one step closer to completing the Queen Anne Bicycle Beltway. From SDOT,
The work which began in February included paving the trail, removing railroad ties and rails, installing low retaining walls, installing chain link fencing, and adding signage and wheel stops. In addition, a new portion of paving on 11th Avenue West and West Ewing Place was added. Finishing details will be completed in the next few weeks.
The second half of Phase 2 (“Contact 2” on the above map), which will link the trail from 11th Ave to Emerson St and Fisherman’s Terminal, is expected to begin later this year, once a construction schedule is decided upon with BNSF Railway, according to SDOT Supervising Project Manager Stuart Goldsmith.
Once Phase 2 is completely, the 3/4 mile of trail known as the “missing link” will connect Redmond to Downtown Seattle by almost entirely dedicated bike paths, and complete the Queen Anne Bicycle Beltway, a cycling path that encircles Queen Anne hill (and is also part of the Queen Anne Neighborhood Plan).
This project is being funded through the Bridging the Gap Levy, a 9-year, $365 million campaign to propel the city’s transportation effort forward through maintenance and improvement.
Read more on this project here and here. See more photos of the trail and its construction on SDOT’s Flickr page.
(Images courtesy of SDOT)