Hikers and equestrians in the Redmond Watershed Preserve are advised to check with the City of Redmond to make certain the trail they plan to use is open. Beginning in mid-May, the city expects some trails in the Redmond Watershed Preserve and adjacent to Farrel-McWhirter Park to periodically close through October. These closures are due to a Puget Sound Energy (PSE) construction project that will improve the electrical system capacity and reliability in Redmond and east King County.

PSE will construct a new 115 kilovolt transmission line to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the area, as well as provide additional reliability by adding redundancy to the local electrical system. The project area extends from NE Novelty Hill Road to Avondale Road NE.

The line will be constructed parallel to PSE’s existing 230 kV transmission lines, located within PSE’s property or utility easement, which runs in part through the Redmond Watershed Preserve. The utility easement has been in place since 1965.

Periodic trail closures are expected for the duration of the project due to construction activities that include clearing the right-of-way and installing new wood poles and wire, as well as restoration and mitigation work. It is PSE’s aim to complete the work in the Watershed Preserve and the area adjacent to Farrel-McWhirter Park with as little disruption as possible.

For information about trail closures, please contact Park Operations, (425) 556-2322. For information about the Novelty Hill-Cottage Brook 115 kV transmission line project, please visit www.pse.com/majorconstruction, and click on King County to locate the project Web page.