May 1, 2025

Geotechnical work begins for new $7.4M bridge at Carkeek Park

Early concept rendering by LMN Architects [enlarge]

Seattle Parks and Recreation plans to release preferred designs this summer and go out for bid in early 2027.

Parts of Carkeek Park will be closed next week for geotechnical assessments needed to replace the Eisenhower-era pedestrian bridge that connects the Broadview park to the shoreline.

The bridge allows pedestrians to cross over a two-lane BNSF railway dividing the 216-acre park's trails, lawn and playground from its popular tidepools and sandy beach below.

Seattle Parks and Recreation's contractor HWA Geosciences will be boring on the beach next week to assess soil conditions needed for the bridge's design and construction, necessitating intermittent closures of the shoreline and surrounding areas May 6-10.

Early concept rendering by LMN Architects [enlarge]

The new bridge will be accessible and include viewing platforms.

The $7.4 million replacement bridge project has been in planning since the winter of 2022, and design is not yet complete. Parks is likely to announce preferred bridge designs this summer.

The project team includes LMN Architects, architect; RHC Engineering, structural engineer; Karen Kiest Landscape Architects, landscape architect; JMB Consulting, cost consulting; ODD lot, structural design and fabrication; Headwater People, Indigenous heritage specialist; and Humming Voices, community outreach.

The parks department plans to seek bids for a contractor in early 2027 ahead of construction scheduled to begin in the spring of 2027 and end in the winter of 2028-29.

Photo from Seattle Parks and Recreation [enlarge]

The new bridge will likely be built beside the existing 1955 bridge, with the old one torn down after construction is complete.

Plans are for the new bridge design to be accessible, and to include viewing platforms. A tunnel was also considered, but an evaluation found site challenges and possible safety issues with that idea.

The contractor will likely build the new bridge beside the existing one, probably on the outside, and demolish the old one after the new bridge is complete.

The project is funded by $4.9 million from real estate excise taxes, $1.8 million from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and $500,000 from the Aquatic Lands Enhancement Act.

The beach and park will be open Monday as HWA begins staging work of its drilling equipment at either the model airplane field east of the beach or on the beach itself. Some parking spots near the pedestrian bridge on the park's western edge will be closed Monday.

Portions of the park (the bridge, the beach, the model airplane field and surrounding roads and paths) will be closed for parts of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, as a helicopter delivers and positioning a drilling rig and other drilling equipment that will be used for the soil sampling.

The beach and park will be fully open on Wednesday and Friday, but with crews drilling on the beach, it could get noisy.

Related Stories:

• State gives $190M to support recreation and wildlife projects  07-27-2023