On the west side of the Cross Kirkland Corridor in Houghton, a temporary sewer pipe runs above ground for about 3,000 feet. King County installed it to maintain sewer service while crews repaired the Eastside Interceptor Section 14. ESI 14 is the County's own pipe, 7 feet in diameter, and in dry weather it carries about 2.6 million gallons of wastewater a day to the South Treatment Plant in Renton. The pumps that power the temporary pipe run around the clock, with lights on 24 hours a day. A generator makes noise, and the county has warned of odors at the diversion sites.
Since September 8, the trail itself has been closed. The county closed the CKC between Northeast 52nd Street and 108th Avenue Northeast for three months. Crews are repairing the damaged culvert under the sewer pipe, building a retaining wall to support the slope, and stabilizing the stream nearby. A three-month closure puts the reopening around the second week of December. The county hasn't published an exact date, so that estimate comes from the announced length and nothing more.
That makes this fall's version of the trail through Houghton a route on surface streets. On the county's detour map, those streets run down toward Lake Washington and up to the NE 68th Street commercial corner. The CKC was built to bypass both of those places.
Why This Stretch Keeps Closing
People who use this segment regularly have seen it close and reopen for about a year. King County's project page lists the history:
- July 2025: King County and City of Kirkland crews find a leak from the ESI 14 sewer pipe that's reaching the culvert. King County coordinates with Public Health – Seattle & King County, and no public health risk is identified.
- October 15, 2025: The county announces that joint rehabilitation on ESI 14 is underway.
- December 11, 2025: The trail opens temporarily.
- January 2026: Wastewater is diverted to the temporary above-ground pipe.
- February 13, 2026: Pipe repair is complete, and the county says the trail will reopen soon.
- March 24, 2026: The trail closes near NE 52nd Street.
- August 25, 2026: The county confirms a full three-month closure starting September 8.
The current phase differs from the earlier ones. The pipe has already been fixed. This work protects it, by rebuilding the culvert underneath it and holding up the slope around it so the pipe isn't damaged in the future. After the culvert work is done, crews will remove the diversion pipe and restore the site. So the long gray pipe on the west side of the trail should come out once this closure ends.
What the County's Map Shows, and What It Leaves Out
The detour is signed, and the county asks trail users to follow the signs and stay out of the work area. The county's detour map labels six streets:
- NE 52nd Street
- Lakeview Drive
- Lake Washington Boulevard
- 106th Avenue NE
- NE 68th Street
- 108th Avenue NE
The map's legend also marks a "Steep Trail Detour Point." It doesn't give a grade, and the county hasn't published the detour's total distance. The list above doesn't give a turn order, either. The signs on the ground are the best guide. If you're pushing a stroller or riding a loaded cargo bike, plan for one real climb.
The county notice doesn't include separate instructions for cyclists. The City's standard CKC rules still apply on the open parts of the trail. Cyclists yield to pedestrians, pass on the left with an audible warning, and keep to 15 mph.
Timing matters on this route. Heavy construction is permitted on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday walks near the closed section won't have equipment noise, though the diversion pumps and generator keep running all week.
The Lakefront Side
Lake Washington Boulevard is on the county's detour map, and between NE 38th Place and downtown it passes a string of public shoreline and places to stop. Ordered from south to north, these are the stops near the detour that have current listings:
| Stop | Address or access | What the current listing says |
|---|---|---|
| Yarrow Bay Wetlands | Lake Washington Blvd, about 500 feet north of NE 38th Place | Signed public trails, wildlife viewing, interpretive walk |
| Carillon Kitchen at The Woodmark | Carillon Point | Open daily, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., takeout and indoor/outdoor dining |
| el Encanto at The Woodmark | Carillon Point | Weekdays from 4 p.m.; weekend brunch 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., dinner from 4 p.m. |
| COMO at The Woodmark | Carillon Point | Daily from 5 p.m. |
| Houghton Beach Park | 5811 Lake Washington Blvd | Dock, playground, picnic areas; restrooms seasonal March through October |
| BeachHouse Bar + Grill | 6023 Lake Washington Blvd NE | Weekend brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; weekday happy hour 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Marsh Park | 6605 Lake Washington Blvd | Dock, year-round restrooms, no lifeguarded beach |
The season decides which of these work for a given walk. The closure runs through October and into early December, so it outlasts several lakefront schedules. Kirkland's guarded-beach season ran from July 1 to September 7 this year. The restrooms at Houghton Beach Park are listed as seasonal through October. That makes Marsh Park the dependable restroom on the waterfront for the last month or so of the closure, since its restrooms are listed as open year-round.
Houghton Beach also had a water advisory this month. On September 9, the City told people and pets to stay out of the swimming area for at least a week because of elevated bacteria levels, and said the rest of the park stayed open. That advisory had a time limit. If you bring a dog that likes the water, check the City's notice and any later updates first.
Carillon Point is the strongest food stop on the lakefront. The three restaurants at The Woodmark cover morning to evening between them. Carillon Kitchen closes at 2 p.m., el Encanto opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays, and COMO opens at 5 p.m. The weekday gap between 2 and 4 p.m. lines up with BeachHouse's weekday happy hour, a short way north on Lake Washington Boulevard.
The Uphill Side, and the Corner That's for Sale
The detour also includes NE 68th Street and 108th Avenue NE. That corner is the Houghton commercial node, where many trail users already stop for coffee and groceries. Starbucks' Houghton II store at 6733 108th Ave NE posted a shift supervisor opening on September 13 that accepts applications through December 12. Metropolitan Market at 10611 NE 68th St lists a full-service café with coffee and dine-in seating.
Across the same corner is the property with the biggest story in Houghton right now. The City of Kirkland bought the Houghton Village Shopping Center at 10702 NE 68th St for $14 million. The center has 29,657 square feet of building on a 95,656-square-foot lot, and it used to house a PCC Community Market along with restaurants, shops and professional offices. The City Council adopted the Houghton Village Development Plan on December 9, 2025. In February 2026, the council authorized the City Manager to start a sale. The City picked CBRE as its broker in June, and the property went on the market in July.
The City's goals for the site explain why this detour corner may look very different in a few years. City Council will make the final call on any offer. The City's stated aims for the site include affordable and market-rate housing, school capacity, nonprofit and arts space, City recreation space, and neighborhood-serving retail. Under the Everest Neighborhood Plan, a council-adopted master plan could allow buildings up to five stories, up from the current three. That would require combining the lot with the commercial property to the east, adding traffic mitigation, and including neighborhood retail. The City says it bought the center because it sits in a walkable ten-minute neighborhood with frequent transit service. This fall, that walkability comes partly from a detour.
Updates on the sale appear on the City's Houghton Village page.
If You Ride the CKC Past Houghton
The closed section is a small piece of a longer trail. The City describes the CKC as a 5.75-mile, ten-foot-wide crushed-gravel path running from the South Kirkland Park & Ride to the Totem Lake Business District. North of 108th Avenue NE, the trail continues to Totem Lake. Eastrail's map lists the CKC and the Totem Lake Connector as open sections.
South of NE 52nd Street, the trail continues to the South Kirkland Park & Ride at 10610 NE 38th Place. The lot has 833 spaces and is served by Metro routes 249, 250, 255, 981 and 986. Riders heading toward Bellevue can take the Northup Connector, which opened in December 2023 and connects Eastrail to Northup Way, part of the 520 Trail.
Some links are still years away. King County expects the Wilburton Trestle to open in mid-2027. The 1.7-mile I-90 segment of Eastrail is scheduled for design from 2025 to 2028 and construction from 2028 to 2031, with opening expected in 2031. If you're riding to Bellevue this fall, the realistic plan is to take the detour through Houghton, pick up the CKC again at NE 52nd Street, and use the Northup Connector.
Watershed Park gives one more option on the uphill side. A short connector joins 108th Avenue NE to the CKC, and the park's forest trails are listed at 4500 110th Ave NE. For updates on the closure, the King County ESI-14 project page is the source of record. Its most recent update, dated August 25, still lists three months of work starting September 8.
If the trail work or the Houghton Village sale has raised questions about what's changing near your part of Kirkland, Andrew M. Wenzl follows these local projects closely and is happy to talk them through, with no pressure. You'll find more local coverage on the Kirkland neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
