Seattle’s Washington Park Trestle: An Elevated Antique Pedestrian Crossing
The grounds surrounding the Washington Park Arboretum Trestle are sparse, frequently empty and wooded. As background, they provide an excellent focus towards a historic multi-arched concrete and brick trestle. Since its construction in 1911, the span continues to service as a pedestrian footbridge crossing heavily trafficked East Washington Boulevard before a split with East Foster Island Road. The city of Seattle constructed the ornamental structure to carry a newly constructed sewer line over low ground. On the eastern side of East Washington Boulevard is the entrance to the Washington Park Arboretum. On the west side is residential housing.
The footbridge is 180 feet long with a height of 23 feet. Clearance space under the span is merely 9.5 feet high causing issues with larger vehicular travel. In April 2008, a chartered school bus crashed into the trestle, injuring several passengers and shearing off the bus’s roof.
Washington Park is considered a Seattle neighborhood composed of extensive walking trails and a Japanese Garden and Arboretum. The pathways are lush and forested and trace expansive East Lake Washington Boulevard. The Arboretum is an agricultural wonderland spread over 230 acres containing a dynamic assortment of plants, many found exclusively within the Pacific Northwest.