Crash data show Bickford-U.S. 2 overpass has improved safety

SNOHOMISH — Bickford Avenue used to be one of the most dangerous crossings on U.S. 2 in Snohomish County.

People making left turns from Bickford onto the highway were involved in more than 20 crashes between 2006 and fall 2013.

The state Department of Transportation completed a new $22 million overpass at the intersection Sept. 16, 2013. It takes drivers over and onto the highway, rather than forcing them to make a left turn across traffic. The change has had a significant impact on safety in the area, according to police and firefighters. Crash data support their observations.

The main purpose of the Bickford project was to prevent “T-bone”-style collisions. It appears to be working, said Mark Leth, the state’s traffic engineer for the northwest region.

“We would expect that to continue,” Leth said. “The speeds are high through there. Over time this certainly pays off.”

The old intersection with Bickford was designed decades ago, when there were fewer cars passing through, Leth said. The Snohomish area is growing — and more development means more traffic.

“It was good timing to make this change before it got busier,” Leth said.

Since the new overpass opened, only one serious-injury collision has been reported at the intersection, and it happened in the last few weeks of construction, as drivers adjusted to the changes, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The Bickford overpass and the accompanying ramps stretch across about a mile of U.S. 2. Eight crashes, none of them with serious injuries, were reported within that mile from September 2013 through August 2015, according to WSDOT data. The Herald obtained the crash data through a public records request. WSDOT cautions that its numbers are preliminary and may not include incidents that weren’t reported to the state.

Police and firefighters say they’ve noticed the difference.

Heather Axtman has been a State Patrol trooper for more than five years. She also is a collision technical specialist. She investigated the crash that happened as construction was wrapping up in 2013. The driver who caused the crash was confused by the new signs from the off-ramp to Bickford and struck a motorcyclist, Axtman said.

“Since then I would say that a lot of people who travel that area are regulars and they are understanding how to use that intersection better,” she said.

The trooper said she’s seen a significant reduction in collisions there.

In July, commissioners at Snohomish County Fire District 4 in Snohomish noted that firefighters’ trauma calls on the highway have decreased overall. The Bickford intersection was part of that discussion.

Before the changes, there weren’t a lot of accidents there, Fire Chief Ron Simmons said.

“It’s not as if we saw multiple car wrecks there every month, but if we saw one, nine times out of 10, it was a serious wreck,” he said.

Serious wrecks have gone down, but there have been more crashes with minor injuries compared to previous years — including a five-car pileup on an icy day, and problems with speeding, Simmons said. He’s hesitant to cite the overpass as the only reason for the difference, in part because crash numbers tend to fluctuate over time and with different seasons.

Snohomish-area firefighters still see collision trouble spots on U.S. 2., in particular at 88th Street SE, the Pilchuck River overpass and Westwick Road, between Snohomish and Monroe, Simmons said.

WSDOT recognizes long-term needs for other work on U.S. 2, and much of that depends on funding, agency spokeswoman Harmony Haveman Weinberg said. No major projects are funded or identified for the Snohomish County portion of the highway for at least three years.

Still, the state is looking for smaller, low-cost projects that could be done sooner, including some already-planned paving, Leth said. Other work in the county in recent years includes the Rice Road roundabout in Sultan and the addition of turn lanes in Sultan and Gold Bar.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.