I-90 Trail: Tree Removal in Mercer Island Begins Soon

King County is upgrading four miles of sewer pipeline across north Mercer Island and south Bellevue.  Tree removal needed for construction will begin at the North Mercer Pump Station as early as Friday, June 17. Tree removal along the I-90 trail starts as early as next week.

As a part of this project, King County will plant 600 new trees across Mercer Island to replace the nearly 400 trees we remove. King County is removing trees to make space for new infrastructure and equipment.  The project's tree plan can be found here.

900 Miles Of Trails: Washington Leafline Plan

Mercer Island sits in the middle of the Leafline trail network, which the state aims to one day connect more than 900 miles of trail across four counties: King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap.  More than 500 miles of trails are already completed. 

Multiple studies have quantified the benefits of regional trail investments in the state:

•  Active transportation provides more jobs per dollar than any other type of transportation;
• Trails in Washington provide $5.9 billion in environmental benefits per year;
• Trails cost less to maintain than roads and cause less air and noise pollution;
• Improving access to trails could help close the health gap in Washington.