King County Parks will continue construction of the Lake to Sound regional trail through Burien in early 2021. The completed Lake to Sound Trail will connect five cities—Renton, Tukwila, Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines—and four regional trails: Eastrail, Cedar River Trail, Interurban Trail, and Green River Trail and Sound Transit’s Tukwila International Boulevard Station along its 16-mile-long route.
This next phase of trail construction through Burien and SeaTac is referred to as Segment C. It will be 2.2 miles long, extending from the intersection of Des Moines Memorial Drive and Ambaum Boulevard South in Burien, roughly following the SR509 extension alignment to Des Moines Creek Trail at S. 200th St in SeaTac. This new segment will connect with the first phase of trail construction, called Segment B to the north, that was completed in 2018. Segment B is 1.5 miles and extends along Des Moines Memorial Drive from S. 156th St to S. Normandy Rd.
The Lake to Sound Trail will provide accessible recreational opportunities and active transportation options for residents and visitors, creating a continuous network from Lake Washington to the Puget Sound. As King County Executive Dow Constantine said from a press release on the groundbreaking of Segment A in 2019, “The work we begin today gets us closer to achieving our long-term goal: building a 16-mile paved trail that connects five South King County cities from Lake Washington to Puget Sound. Trails connect people and communities. They change the way we experience the places where we live, work, and play. That is why I made improving and completing our regional trail system a priority of my administration.”
The new 2.2-mile segment–funded in part by the 2014–2019 and 2020–2025 King County Parks, Recreation, Trails and Open Space Levy and in partnership with the Washington Department of Transportation, will be completed by the end of 2022. The City of Burien will be responsible for maintenance of the trail.