Transportation Committee Recap: An $80 Million Connector With No Money to Build It

Bellevue Chamber of Commerce  |  August 6, 2026

The Bellevue Chamber's Transportation Committee met on August 6 on two questions Bellevue aims to answer at once: What it takes to build the last unfinished piece of Spring Boulevard, and how the city decides which projects reach its next funding list.

A Corridor Designed to 30 Percent, With No Money to Build It

Marina Arakelyan, a project manager in the City of Bellevue's Transportation Department, briefed the committee on Northeast Spring Boulevard Zone 3, the gap between 124th and 130th with no through connection today. The segment would carry one travel lane each way, sidewalks, separated bicycle facilities, and a new bridge over the west tributary to Kelsey Creek, linking the Spring District and BelRed light rail stations.

Design is 30 percent complete at an estimated $80 million in 2026 dollars, but the project is fully funded through design, about $4.5 million of that federal, and the current budget carries nothing for construction. Environmental review is expected to run up to two years, followed by two to three years of right of way acquisition from owners including Safeway, Coca-Cola, Evans Industrial, and Cadman.

If funding arrives on schedule, construction begins around 2030. Members pressed on cost discipline first, with Kevin Wallace asking what value engineering the city had examined, whether Sound Transit would dedicate property rights, and whether the parks budget might share the cost of a road that opens a park. Arakelyan offered to share the alternatives analysis, and to raise the parks question with management.

What the Coalition Asked For, and What the City Adopted

Pearl Leung of Amazon traced the Bellevue Mobility Coalition to the comprehensive plan's growth targets and the environmental review that identified 16 intersections projected to fail as that growth arrives. The Chamber's view? The transportation side did not keep pace with the land use side.

"We gave feedback that the visionary land use plan needs to have visionary Transportation strategy, and that we need to reimagine the TFP process for a growing city." —Pearl Leung, Amazon

Leung said the city's July 21 presentation to Council reflected much of it. Bellevue is consolidating 17 capital programs into a single transportation portfolio, sorting projects into five categories by mode, and has funded a comprehensive master plan in the proposed budget. Council heard a project inventory of roughly $1.5 billion, which members characterized as wants and needs rather than a prioritized list. A sharper list becomes public at the September 15 budget hearing, and the committee reconvenes September 3.