Paving of North Segment of E. Lake Sammamish Trail Slated for 2012

The Washington State Department of Transportation is seeking comments on its draft 2012-2015 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). 

In Sammamish, the draft STIP includes the East Lake Sammamish Trail, North Sammamish Segment, slated for construction in 2012. WSDOT has $1.5 million of Federal Funds for work, and the project also will be funded with an additional $2.35 million of county funds for the King County project. 

The county's East Lake Sammamish Master Plan Trail project includes design and construction of an alternative, non-motorized transportation corridor and a multi-use paved recreational trail along 11 miles of the former Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad corridor on the east side of Lake Sammamish, between Redmond and Issaquah. King County purchased the corridor from BNSF in 1997, and in 2006 opened the existing interim use gravel trail to the public.  

The project will develop a 1 mile-long paved and soft-surface regional trail and related improvements within the City of Sammamish as the next phase of the master planned trail.

The trail will be constructed from the city's north boundary near 187th Avenue NE to NE 40th Street along an abandoned railroad corridor. The project will include: construction of a 12-foot-wide paved regional trail with soft-surface (gravel) shoulders; related earthwork; drainage improvements related to the trail; retaining walls and other site improvements; landscaping and fencing; and access and traffic control (bollards, striping, signage, etc.) This project has also been funded with $686,691 in P/E funds in prior years. 

The agency currently is seeking comments on the draft STIP, a listing of federally funded projects as well as regionally significant state and local transportation projects, is now available for review and comment. The Washington State Department of Transportation’s public comment period for the STIP is Friday, Dec. 2, to Monday, Dec. 19. 

Approximately 1,000 statewide transportation improvement projects utilizing $1.9 billion in federal funds are included in the 2012-15 STIP. The STIP includes projects such as pavement overlays, roadway widening, bridge replacement or repair, signal systems, safety enhancements, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and transit improvements. WSDOT developed the list in coordination with statewide metropolitan and rural transportation planning organizations to ensure that the proposed projects are consistent with local, regional and state plans. 

Projects included in the STIP are funded by a combination of federal, state and local sources. Federal-aid projects must be included in the STIP before the Federal Highway Administration or Federal Transit Administration can authorize the expenditure of federal funds. 

A new four-year STIP is created every year, and several projects may carry over as they move from design, to right-of-way and finally, to construction. The current 2011-14 STIP can be viewed online; a similar, searchable database of the 2012-15 STIP will be created after review and approval by FHWA and FTA in early 2012. 

Written comments can be sent to: Stephanie Tax, WSDOT, P.O. Box 47390, Olympia, WA 98504-7390, email:Taxs@wsdot.wa.gov, or by fax at: 360-705-6822. 

--Information from WSDOT and King County