You did it! WSDOT will not cut the Harvard Connection path to planned Roanoke Lid

Concept diagram from a 2020 report to the Seattle Design Commission.

The efforts by advocates at Central Seattle Greenways as well as readers like you have paid off. WSDOT announced that they are no longer planning to cut the Harvard Connection path to the planned Roanoke Lid as part of the SR-520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project.

Following conversations with legislators, our contractor, project partners and community advocates, we have decided to maintain the Harvard Connection," wrote WSDOT Program Administrator Omar Jepperson. It is clear the community feels strongly about keeping this bicycle and pedestrian connection. We look forward to delivering these multimodal improvements to the city and region."

We wrote about the community effort to save the trail connection Wednesday while also arguing that the path would recreate one of Seattle's very first bicycle paths from the 1890s. There's some really interesting potential for public art or historical markers of some kind to connect people with the history of white colonial settlement and development of this place, which began with a bike path that grew into a freeway.

There are still budget gaps to figure out before this final segment of the 520 freeway megaproject project begins its long construction phase. But the cutting the trail connection would barely scratch the surface of the project budget, which includes a full replacement of the entire Portage Bay Bridge between Montlake and I-5. Community advocates previously fought to keep a biking and walking trail on the new bridge, which will shorten several major regional bike routes between the city center and UW, the Burke-Gilman Trail, and Eastside communities along the 520 Trail.

Below is the full text of the letter from WSDOT:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us about maintaining the Harvard Shared-Use Path (Harvard Connection) on the SR 520 Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid Project. We appreciate your advocacy and patience while we conducted additional analysis.

As we've shared before, this project faced an approximate $700 million budget gap. The Legislature directed us to move forward with awarding the Portage Bay project but to seek consequential cost reduction opportunities through value engineering and prioritizing functionality and usability of the Portage Bay Bridge and Roanoke Lid." Removing the proposed Harvard Connection was one of several cost reduction opportunities we analyzed to meet this legislative requirement.

We identified the Harvard Connection as a potential cost reduction measure because there are alternative walking/biking connections in the area that provide a similar function. We saw this as an opportunity to align resources with the city of Seattle to improve the alternative connections, reduce maintenance costs and concerns, and preserve approximately 50 mature trees.

However, following conversations with legislators, our contractor, project partners and community advocates, we have decided to maintain the Harvard Connection. It is clear the community feels strongly about keeping this bicycle and pedestrian connection. We look forward to delivering these multimodal improvements to the city and region.

Thank you again for your feedback.