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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, September 8, 2008 Marysville wants to expand 88th St. NE The city's $760 million traffic plan would add turn lanes and widen the arterial to five lanes between State Avenue and 67th Ave. NE. By Bill Sheets Herald writer MARYSVILLE -- Traffic is sometimes so thick on 88th Street NE between I-5 and State Avenue that people who live in a nearby neighborhood have trouble getting home, one resident said. "We have a hard time even getting back there because the traffic blocks us out," said Pamela Martin, who lives near the Haggen store north of 88th. With traffic on that already clogged arterial expected to double by 2035, improving the street is a key component of the city of Marysville's long-term traffic plan, officials say. The city would like to add lanes and install turn lanes on the road east to 67th Avenue NE to connect with a planned extension from 67th to Highway 9. "It's the most direct (east-west) link and all the way out to Granite Falls," city traffic engineer John Tatum said of the 88th Avenue corridor. "If you connect Granite Falls to Wal-Mart (at Quil Ceda Village), is there a straighter line than that?" The city's $760 million plan spells out projects citywide to ease the way for cars, bicycles and pedestrians up to the year 2035. Some of the money has been secured, most hasn't. The public is scheduled to have a chance to comment on the plan at a meeting of the city's Planning Commission on Tuesday. Some components of the plan, such as a widening of 64th Street NE and construction of some bike lanes and sidewalks, have already been done. Others are partly finished, under construction or have yet to be built. One major project, a $13.6 million bridge over I-5 at 156th Street NE, is planned for construction in 2010. New and wider roads in the Smokey Point area will be built partly with fees charged to developers when the area grows. For some projects, the city doesn't know yet know where the money's coming from. The improvements on 88th, pegged at $30 million, are one such case. It's hoped the city can attract funding from Snohomish County or the state, since part of it is in unincorporated Snohomish County and 40 percent of the traffic on the street is outside the city, Tatum said. On the remainder of 88th, if and when the money is found, the congested, five-lane area between State and I-5 would be improved with turn lanes at State Avenue NE and I-5 in the next five to seven years, and with a turn lane at 36th Avenue NE in the next 10 years. The road would be widened from two to five lanes between State Avenue and 67th Avenue NE. Some improvements to intersections would be made first, in the next five to 10 years, but the street between State Avenue and 51st is not projected to be widened until between 2025 and 2035. The connection between 67th and Highway 9, called the Ingraham Boulevard project, is estimated at $5.6 million. That road is funded, scheduled to be built next year and to open in 2010, along with the planned new Marysville-Getchell High School. The Planning Commission will send a recommendation the plan to the City Council. Planning Commissioner Becky Foster, who has long pushed for traffic improvements in the north end of the city, likes the plan. "I think it's wonderful, I think the city has done a tremendous amount of work in identifying where the needs are," she said. "It opens up the congestion between 172nd (Street NE) and Marysville. It certainly will allow people to move around the Smokey Point community far better than they can now." Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com. Public hearing A public hearing on the city of Marysville's long-term transportation plan is 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 1049 State Ave. The plan can be found on the city's Web site at www.ci.marysville.wa.us. Click on "Community Development" and "Draft Transportation Element." READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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