City officials in Bellevue, Washington, are planning a new multimodal bridge over Interstate 405 after city council members advanced a new financing strategy for the project.
The Bellevue City Council in Washington voted May 20 to establish a tax increment financing (TIF) district to help fund the Grand Connection Crossing, a planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Interstate 405. The city estimates the bridge will cost between $175 million and $230 million, connecting to over 175 miles of regional trails.
Measuring about 1.5 miles, the route will tie downtown Bellevue to the Wilburton area east of the highway and to the Eastrail regional path. The project serves as the keystone piece of the city’s larger Grand Connection initiative, which envisions a continuous chain of public space stretching from Meydenbauer Bay Park through the city center and across the freeway.
The TIF district, which becomes active June 1, covers a footprint of more than 63 acres surrounding the proposed bridge corridor. City projections place anticipated revenue at close to $68 million across a 25-year span, enough to underwrite about 15% to 20% of total project costs. Six overlapping taxing bodies signed on to participate, with officials stressing that no new tax rate is being added. Instead, as property values rise within the district through redevelopment, that growth in tax revenue flows back to the city to fund the bridge.
The TIF revenue represents just one piece of a layered funding plan. To date, the project has secured $46.7 million through the city’s 2025-2030 Capital Investment Program (CIP), along with an additional $2.5 million from Friends of the Grand Connection earmarked for early-stage design.
Under the current proposal, the bridge will be closed to motor vehicles, designed to carry foot, bicycle and other non-vehicle traffic. Its width begins at 30 feet and broadens to as much as 40 feet at the section directly above the freeway. Dedicated lanes split walkers from those traveling on wheels, a design feature meant to improve safety for users.
Beyond the span itself, the plan includes several design features meant to make the crossing feel like a destination rather than just a passageway. Greenery and landscaping will run along the full length of the bridge, with plaza-style gathering areas anchoring each end. Two vertical access points, located at 112th and 116th Avenues Northeast, will give users a way on and off the bridge through both elevators and stairwells.
The existing City Hall Plaza is also slated for a refresh. The reconfiguration will accommodate the new gathering activity and create a smoother approach for people traveling between downtown and the bridge.
Once complete, the bridge will serve as a connection point for several of the area’s major transportation stations. It will tie downtown Bellevue directly to a pair of nearby light-rail stops, also feeding into the Eastrail, a 42-mile path that traces the Eastside from Snohomish County south through Renton.
For project delivery, the city is moving forward with a general contractor/construction manager (GC/CM) approach, an alternative procurement method that received state approval in late 2025. WSP USA has led design work on the project since 2023. The current project timeline shows that the city plans to release a request for proposals (RFP) for the contractor role sometime in 2026.
According to officials, the project is slated for a 2030 opening of the first phase, which will provide a continuous path between City Hall Plaza and Eastrail. Add-on features and a possible park lid above the freeway remain on the table for evaluation in later phases of work.
Photo by Erik Mclean from Pexels
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