Starting next week, a section of the Burke-Gilman will be rerouted to allow for the replacement of a 100-year-old water main next to the Ship Canal.
The eight-month closure will start on Monday, Dec. 17, with a detour beginning (if traveling from Ballard) on the west end of the Fremont Canal Park. The detour will lead pedestrians and bicyclists east on NW 36th St in Fremont, and then south on 2nd Ave NW to rejoin the trail where 2nd meets NW Canal St.
According to Seattle Public Utilities, the construction is part of the Fremont to Queen Anne Water Main Replacement project, which will construct a new 24-inch drinking water feeder main in a utility tunnel — AKA, a “utilidor” — under the Ship Canal between Fremont and Queen Anne. SPU says the feeder mains are critical components of the drinking water systems that serve neighborhoods — the current feeder has been in operation for almost a century, and was taken out of service in 2011 because it had begun to leak.
Learn more about the project and its timeline here.