Date:  Friday, September 18, 2009

Contact: Janice Fahning, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-225-8799 (Everett)
Meghan Soptich Pembroke, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)

New access ramp open for fall quarter

BOTHELL – Students at the UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College campus will have a new way to get to school when classes start this month. Elected officials and school administrators joined WSDOT to officially cut the ribbon on the new campus access ramp today, Friday, Sept. 18. The new south campus access ramp opens to traffic Monday, Sept. 28. Classes begin that week.

Washington State Department of Transportation contractor Mowat Construction completed the $52.3 million project, funded from the 2003 and 2005 gas tax packages, eight months ahead of schedule. The new ramps allow UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College to lift the enrollment cap of 3,000 students. The new enrollment cap is 10,000 students.

“The new entrance will improve access and shorten commutes for students and local drivers. We’re pleased to deliver it ahead of schedule and just in time for the start of the school year,” said Paula Hammond, Transportation Secretary.

Mowat Construction crews working for WSDOT hit the ground running last April and developed an aggressive schedule that had crews working in multiple areas concurrently. This plan allowed workers to complete the majority of the project in just 18 months.

More access means more education
Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, Rep. Al O’Brien, city of Bothell Mayor Mark Lamb, representatives from Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Jay Inslee’s offices, and school officials were on hand to celebrate the ribbon-cutting.

When the new ramps and lanes open Sept. 28, drivers will have direct access to the campus from SR 522 and from I-405. A new signal on SR 522 will help keep traffic safely moving at the new campus access road.

“The access ramp will be a great benefit to everyone coming to our campus,” said Dr. Bill Christopher, Cascadia CC President. “We have a record number of students enrolled for fall quarter, so getting the ramp open ahead of schedule helps out immediately.”

“This investment in transportation is so much more,” added Dr. Kenyon S. Chan, UW Bothell Chancellor. “It is a major investment in education and enables our campus to grow and fulfill our pledge to access to excellence in education.”

All drivers benefit

In addition to improving access to the joint campus, the project will also reduce congestion and enhance safety on I-405 and SR 522 in Bothell. Crews added an additional exit lane from southbound I-405 to westbound SR 522. They also built a bridge to allow drivers coming from I-405 to bypass the new signal and continue directly onto SR 522 in Bothell.

Crews broke ground on the project in April 2008, more than a dozen years after WSDOT first began designing the new campus access. The project was delayed for several years by funding shortfalls and environmental challenges. During the 2008 legislative session, lawmakers were able to find the additional funding to make the project a reality.

To create space for the new entrance, crews removed nearly 360,000 cubic yards of soil and built one of the tallest retaining walls in Washington State. The wall measures 90 feet tall and nearly 600 feet long. Crews also worked carefully to maintain North Creek, Sammamish Slough and other sensitive environmental areas near the project. In fact, drivers will continue to see some lane closures as crews wrap up fall planting in the area.

For more information visit the project Web site: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR522/UW.

More Bothell-area congestion relief coming soon

In November, WSDOT will break ground on a federal stimulus-funded project to ease congestion and improve safety on I-405 in Bothell. Crews will add an auxiliary lane on northbound I-405 between the NE 195th Street on-ramp and SR 527 off-ramp. The new two-mile-long lane will help relieve severe afternoon backups through the area, and improve access to the UW Bothell/Cascadia Community College campus and business parks at NE 195th Street.

For more information, visit the project Web site: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/I405/NE195thToSR527NB.

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