Date:
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Contact:
Marlin Lenssen, WSDOT Project Engineer, (425) 225-8796 (Everett)
Myly Posse, WSDOT Communications, (206) 440-4700 (Seattle)
SEATTLE – More than 200 people packed the UW Bothell Events Center this afternoon to celebrate years of hard work and effort to find funding and then break ground on the UW Bothell/Cascadia College Campus Access project.
They clapped as local leaders, local lawmakers, students, administrators and WSDOT workers announced the beginning of work to improve access to the school and between I-405 and SR 522 in Bothell. When this work is complete, improved access for drivers and transit will allow the joint campus to lift its 3,000 student enrollment cap and open the doors to 10,000 students.
"This isn't just about building a road," said Kenyon S. Chan, UW Bothell Chancellor. "For every piece of concrete, we're adding to the lives of students and to what this university aspires to be."
Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe echoed the words of opportunity adding, "Many of you had a vision and today it becomes a reality."
The project hasn't been without bumps, something noted by all the speakers today. Bothell Mayor Mark Lamb thanked Sen. McAuliffe, Rep. Al O'Brien and Rep. Mark Ericks for their years of dogged efforts to find the funding to make the project a reality.
"It's been an incredible collective effort involving the city of Bothell, the legislature and the state," Mayor Lamb said.
WSDOT began planning for the south campus access in 1995. Funding hurdles, environmental and designs challenges continued to push the project back and added to the overall cost. During the last legislative session, lawmakers were able to find the money to bridge the funding gap and turn the design into reality.
"It's rare that we at WSDOT see a direct nexus of our work in the community like this," said Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation as she looked at the young faces in the crowd.
"It truly takes a village," said Lorena Eng, WSDOT Regional Administrator.
After speaking, Secretary Hammond led the way to the deck overlooking North Creek and the nearby wetland. Out from under the deck came members of the Husky marching band, cheerleaders and two mascots. As crews unrolled a banner printed with the number 3,000, the UW and Cascadia mascots broke through, marking a significant turn of events for students and future students at UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College campus.
Mowat Construction Co. crews are mobilizing and expect to begin construction the week of April 14. For their first order of work, they will shift traffic on SR 522 in the vicinity of Kaysner Way to clear the area and begin building a new wall.
Project features include:
· widening SR 522 just west of I-405
· creating a new signalized entrance to the south end of the campus from SR 522 (Bothell-Woodinville Highway)
· adding a new southbound lane to the I-405 off-ramp to westbound SR 522
The Washington State Legislature earmarked funding for the project through the 2003 and 2005 gas tax. Funding sources also included higher education funds, and federal funds, bringing the total project cost is $50.7 million.
For more information on this project, visit the project Web page at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR522/UW
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