Bellevue has picked a contractor to build a long-awaited pedestrian link stitching the regional Eastrail trail into Northeast Spring Boulevard, with a bid price of $5.1 million attached to the job. MidMountain Contractors, a Bellevue-based firm, landed the general contractor work on the connector, which will bring walls, drainage, lighting and a fresh stretch of paved trail to the corridor.
The city of Bellevue selected MidMountain Contractors of Bellevue to build the new pedestrian link, according to DJC. The outlet reported that MidMountain submitted a $5.1 million bid for the general contractor gig, a figure that will cover a wide range of site work before the trail is complete.
What the Project Actually Involves
Per the same DJC report, the scope of work is extensive: erosion control, clearing, excavation and site grading lay the groundwork, while a geosynthetic wall with concrete fascia and a cast-in-place wall and stairs will shape the terrain along the route. Storm drainage improvements and a hot-mix asphalt trail surface are also part of the package, alongside sidewalk improvements, channelization, signing and lighting.
The job further includes landscape and irrigation work, wetland mitigation, railing and fencing, traffic control during construction, and property restoration once the work wraps up. It is a comprehensive build for what is, at its core, a pedestrian and trail connection — reflecting the environmental and infrastructure considerations built into the corridor.
Estimates Don't Quite Line Up
Cost estimates for the project vary depending on the source. DJC's earlier bid solicitation report put the estimated cost between $4.8 million and $6.2 million, while a listing on highergov.com put the engineer's estimate range at $4.7 million to $6.1 million. Neither account explains the discrepancy, and it is not clear which range serves as the project's controlling estimate.
That same highergov.com listing shows the city issued its formal bid solicitation, ITB #26012, for the trail link on April 23, with bids due by May 21. MidMountain's $5.1 million submission falls within both of the reported estimate ranges.
A Trail Link Years in the Making
The connector has roots going back years. A 2021 Bellevue council roundup noted that the city council had accepted a $1.28 million federal grant to design an 850-foot-long, 12-foot-wide trail link connecting the regional Eastrail to the city's recently completed multi-purpose path, according to the City of Bellevue. A separate city project page notes that an earlier phase of the broader Northeast Spring Boulevard corridor, running from Eastrail to 120th Avenue Northeast, was completed in early 2018, with a second phase finished in 2020.
Eastrail has seen other connection projects pop up nearby in recent years. A 2022 announcement from King County described a temporary Eastrail closure in Bellevue between 108th Avenue NE and 120th Avenue NE for work tied to a planned ramp connecting Eastrail to the 520 Trail, a project described as a partnership between Eastrail Partners, Meta, REI and King County Parks. The same announcement referenced a separate Totem Lake Connector project, expected to open in spring 2023 after bridge spans were installed over NE 124th Street.
