Opening Day of the Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge

 City of Redmond and Sound Transit Celebrate Opening of Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge

From left to right: City Council Vice President Jessica Forsythe, Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman, City Council President Vanessa Kritzer, King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci, Mayor Angela Birney, Councilmember Melissa Stuart, and Councilmember Angie Nuevacamina.

REDMOND, WA - The City of Redmond celebrated the opening of the Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge with a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday. This vital link connects the light rail station at Overlake Village to the 520 Bike Trail across SR 520. The $10.4 million project enhances accessibility and fosters connectivity between key transit points in Redmond.

"The Overlake Pedestrian Bridge exemplifies the successful partnership between the City of Redmond and Sound Transit,” said Mayor Angela Birney. “This project creates an important connection for our community to access transit and demonstrate our commitment to sustainable and accessible transportation.”

The Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge, a collaborative effort with Sound Transit, was funded by a $1.6 million Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) grant, a $5 million Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant, as well as additional funding from the City of Redmond. With Sound Transit overseeing the design and construction, the bridge, fabricated by Brooklyn Iron Works in Spokane, crosses WSDOT right-of-way and integrates into the 520 Bike Trail, showcasing innovative urban planning.

“This bridge reconnects the neighborhoods around Overlake Village Station with a new, safe crossing over the barrier created by SR 520. Starting today, the new bridge links people to major destinations by walking, biking, and buses and, in the near future, it will connect people to the whole region by light rail,” said King County Councilmember and Sound Transit Boardmember Claudia Balducci. “It lends Overlake Village a signature look with its beautiful, sweeping design. Like many of my constituents, I’m excited that the waiting is over. Thanks to the great work of Sound Transit, the City of Redmond, and WSDOT, this bridge now connects our region to everything Overlake has to offer.” 

The bridge's standout feature is the artwork "Verdant" by Seattle-based artist Leo Saul Berk. The piece references Redmond’s history with technology through hand-painted marks designed to evoke the look of low-resolution graphics on green phosphorescent monitors. Berk's creation utilizes 1,026 vertical louvers and over 156,000 hand-painted marks, depicting a pixelated northwest forest scene that changes dynamically as one traverses the bridge.

The City invites the community to walk, stroll, or roll across the Overlake Village Pedestrian Bridge, which crosses SR 520 from the north end of Overlake Village Station to the 520 Bike Trail just east of Microsoft Building 109, to experience this unique, new artwork, while enjoying enhanced connectivity.

For more information, visit soundtransit.org/system-expansion/overlake-village-station.

~ Press Release ~ 1/20/2024