Photo: King County Parks

Eastrail hit a new milestone Friday as King County Parks celebrated the start of an exciting transformation for the historic Wilburton Trestle. This 120-year-old landmark will soon be a stunning 1,000-foot-long trail bridge added to the Eastrail in Bellevue. Check out this video of the Trestle from our friends at King County Parks.

Once the transformation is complete in summer 2026, the public will be able to walk, bike, or roll directly to the trestle from the nearby Wilburton Station on Sound Transit’s recently opened 2 Line.

This $37M King County Parks project is made possible by funding from many sources, including the King County Parks Levy ($20M), project funds from the state and Move Ahead WA transportation package ($9M total), Amazon’s leadership investment of $5M, the City of Bellevue ($2M), and $500,000 from Kaiser Permanente. Eastrail Partners was honored to lead the advocacy for project funding in Move Ahead WA, and for Amazon’s partnership on their leadership investments in Eastrail.

Eastrail Partners Board Director Bill Finkbeiner joined other Eastrail champions for the groundbreaking, and reflected on those who built the trestle over 100 years ago, remarking how “they did it because they wanted to knit together a transportation system on the Eastside,” despite not knowing the many uses it would have over the years. “Without this project, there’s no crossing 405, there’s no connecting the South End to the Eastside, there’s no commuting alternative on the Eastrail.”

As we look ahead to more trail segments opening soon, Finkbeiner noted “it’s not the groundbreaking that matters, it’s the point when we get to use it… in a few years, someone will be riding to work and thank their stars that they don’t have the ride on the roads, as there would be no other good way into Bellevue from the South. Instead, they can take a straight shot in on a flat, connected trail.” We join him in looking ahead to the Trestle’s opening in summer 2026, and more connections coming as we continue our work to close the Eastrail gap in Bellevue.

Read more about the Trestle opening:

• King County is transforming 1,000-foot-long Wilburton Trestle, adding the iconic structure to Eastrail with funding from the state, Amazon, City of Bellevue – King County, Washington
• Conversion of iconic Wilburton Trestle for Eastrail begins | City of Bellevue (bellevuewa.gov)
• Construction Starts on Wilburton Trestle, a Centerpiece of the Eastrail – The Urbanist
• Key part of Eastside’s trail system begins construction in Bellevue | The Seattle Times