Cross Kirkland Corridor

The Cross Kirkland Corridor is a ten-foot-wide, compacted crushed gravel 5.75-mile segment of the Eastside Rail Corridor that traverses Kirkland, from the South Kirkland Park and Ride to the City’s northern boundary in the Totem Lake Business District. It is a great route to explore Kirkland by foot or bike. For more information about the Cross Kirkland Corridor, visit the City website where you'll find a detailed map of the Corridor to help you plan your adventure. 

History of the Corridor

The Eastside Rail Corridor (ERC) is 42 miles of former rail line that was first developed in 1904 as part of the Lake Washington Belt Line. This line extended from Renton to Snohomish and was initially used to haul coal and lumber. As farming expanded during the early to mid-1900s, trains began to haul agricultural products. Starting in the late 1900s, the rail line was used primarily by light industrial companies such as Boeing. From 1993 to 2007, the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train also used the tracks.

In the early 1990s, the Kirkland Park Board proposed a Cross Kirkland Trail parallel to the active rail line. Complications with the railroad company stalled that vision.

In late 2009, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway sold the rail line to the Port of Seattle, and the Eastside Rail Corridor came into public ownership. Becoming ever more a reality, the vision for a trail and future transit corridor came into focus following the City’s Transportation Commission collaboration with stakeholders which resulted in an Eastside Rail Corridor Interest Statement. The Statement set goals for future development of the Corridor.

In late 2011, Kirkland negotiated an extremely favorable price of $5 million to purchase a 5.75-mile section of the corridor. The deal closed on April 13, 2012. Sound Transit and other utilities retain easements along the rail-banked portion of the ERC prior to the City’s purchase of their segment. In June 2014, the City Council adopted the Cross Kirkland Corridor Master Plan, and construction of the interim pathway followed shortly thereafter.  

Kirkland has been a true leader in recognizing the promise and the opportunity offered by the deliberate development of the Eastside Rail Corridor! For more about the City’s efforts to capitalize on this worthy and historic pathway, visit the Port of Seattle Newsroom!