Waterfront walkway along popular Pierce County beach is closed this week. Here’s why
Parks Tacoma recently announced the walkway along the water at Titlow Beach in Tacoma will be closed this week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to allow a railroad company to analyze soil conditions while they design a railroad trestle.
The walkway will be closed Monday through Friday, and those looking to reach Hidden Beach and areas further along the shore are asked to use the North Hidden Beach pedestrian bridge, Parks Tacoma said over the weekend.
Parks officials said the closure is “necessary to allow BNSF to identify the soil conditions and potential subsurface obstructions for engineers designing a railroad trestle.”
A railroad trestle is a type of bridge made of wood or steel that is used to carry railroads over a valley or other obstacle, often in areas with elevation changes.
Parks Tacoma spokesperson Stacia Glenn told The News Tribune Monday that BNSF workers will be doing “geo-technical drilling” near the site of the walkway to identify soil conditions as part of a future project to design a new railroad trestle in that area.
That work is one of three projects underway at the 75-acre Titlow Park, Glenn said. Still in the design phase, the project plans to replace the current railway trestle bridge and remove a gated culvert that connects the Titlow Lagoon to the Tacoma Narrows and replace it with a fish friendly channel to restore valuable salmon habitat.
Other projects seek to replace the Hidden Beach bridge and improve stormwater management in the area.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 10:37 AM.
