Date:  Thursday, December 10, 2009

Contact: John Chi, WSDOT Project Engineer, 425-489-5402 (Bothell)
Meghan Soptich Pembroke, WSDOT Communications, 206-440-4704 (Seattle)

Project wraps up on schedule despite flood delays

SNOHOMISH – A major project to reduce congestion on busy SR 9 south of Snohomish reached its last major milestone today as crews turned on a new traffic signal at 164th Street SE. The new signal is part of a $53.4 million widening project funded by the 2003 and 2005 gas taxes. In late November, crews opened two new SR 9 lanes to traffic between SR 96 and Marsh Road.

“The new lanes are helping improve traffic flow for the 20,000 commuters and truck drivers who use SR 9 each day,” said Lorena Eng, WSDOT regional administrator. “With the added capacity, drivers should see faster travel times and less congestion.”

The new signal at 164th Street SE, combined with the new lanes and other improvements, will help reduce collisions and congestion on SR 9. Drivers were involved in an average of 77 collisions a year from 2004 to 2008 along the four-and-a-half mile stretch of SR 9 between 176th Street SE and Marsh Road. This was an 83 percent increase in collisions from 2000. Many were congestion related; there were 43 rear-end collisions in 2008 alone.

Crews began widening SR 9 south of Snohomish in April 2008 and worked quickly to build the foundation for the widened section of highway. In April 2009 the project experienced a short delay when the roadway was damaged by flooding. Crews stopped work on the project while they removed undermined portions of roadway and rebuilt the foundation.

With the flood repairs completed in May, crews worked hard to make up lost time and get back on track. In July they relocated the Marsh Road/Airport Way/Springhetti Road intersection to the east and opened new alignments of Airport Way and Springhetti Road. Relocating the intersection gave crews the room they needed to finish widening the roadway.

Drivers can expect for lane closures to continue through the end of the year as crews wrap up final work on the project. When the project is complete, drivers will also notice new guardrail, new traffic cameras and new turn lanes at key intersections. For more information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR9/176thtoMarsh.

More to come for SR 9 corridor

The completion of this project is a major milestone for the SR 9 corridor program. WSDOT is currently more than a third of the way through the 90-mile long corridor improvement plan that will strategically increase capacity and improve safety on SR 9 between Bothell in Snohomish County and Sumas in Whatcom County.

In 2010 and 2011, crews will begin work on three gas tax-funded projects on SR 9 in Snohomish County, totaling an investment of $142.1 million. Next spring, crews will begin widening SR 9 to four lanes between Lundeen Parkway and SR 92 near Lake Stevens. In 2011, crews will start work on an SR 9 widening project between SR 524 north of Bothell and 176th Street SE in the community of Clearview. They will also improve safety by building a roundabout at the intersection of SR 9 and SR 531 in Arlington.

For more information, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr9.

###

< Go Back