SEATTLE , WA — The American Council of Engineering Companies of Washington recently hosted their annual Engineering Excellence Awards program virtually. Fifteen projects were honored in this year’s program. King County Park’s Lake to Sound Trail Segment A project, submitted by Parametrix, received a Gold award in the Social, Economic, and Sustainable Design category.

This segment of the trail opened to the public in February 2020. The completion of this 1.1-mile-long segment fills an essential missing link within the overall corridor. When complete, the non-motorized, multi-use recreational trail and alternative transportation corridor will be 16 miles long, spanning from the south end of Lake Washington in Renton, Washington, all the way to the shoreline of Puget Sound in Des Moines, Washington. It will directly connect five cities in a traditionally underserved area of South King County and provide access throughout the region with safe connections to other major regional trails and transit facilities

The trail is designed to accommodate people of all ages and abilities with a 12-foot-wide asphalt surface, two-foot soft surface shoulders and one-foot clear zones on each side of the trail. Other design elements include retaining walls, bridges, intersections/traffic controls, improved drainage systems, culverts, bollards, native landscaping, art, and other trail amenities.

Parametrix was initially hired by King County Parks to study the feasibility and select a route for the entire trail. For Segment A, Parametrix was the prime consultant responsible for project management, design of the trail, civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, and construction management. HWA GeoSciences was the geotechnical engineer and Olson Brothers was the general contractor.