Finishing Highway 522 widening? Add it to the long(shot) list

There are a lot of high-priority road projects out there that are lost in planning la-la land until the actual money to complete them shows up.

The Highway 2 eastbound trestle between Lake Stevens and Everett is perhaps the most notorious.

Widening Highway 9 to bring relief to an increasingly clogged corridor is another.

And those who live in Monroe and other communities in east Snohomish County would quickly and loudly add the completion of widening Highway 522.

The proposed widening of Highway 522 between Paradise Lake Road and the Snohomish River Bridge remains unfunded. The highway on either side of the section is widened, thanks to past state projects. But the gap has yet to be closed.

The reduction from four lanes to two sucks traffic into a bottleneck.

“It stays bumper to bumper until I hit the (Snohomish) River bridge,” said Pamela Cook of Monroe, who works in Bellevue. Backups get so bad, it can take 45 minutes to travel just 10 miles.

“Let’s hope the funding comes through,” Cook said. “Everyone is complaining about 405 toll lanes, but the 522 part of my commute is so much worse.”

Some funding secured

Highway 522 improvements were practically a done deal in 2007, until voters rejected a massive Roads and Transit package that included a key piece of the project.

Eight years later, the project still is not complete, though a baby step has been secured.

The most recent state transportation budget set aside $10 million to design a new interchange at Paradise Lake Road, which currently is managed with a traffic signal. That doesn’t address the unfinished widening project. And the money won’t even be released, at this point, until 2025. There’s no construction money earmarked.

Until lawmakers can pool their influence and agree on a plan of attack, it’s the best that can be hoped for, said state Rep. Luis Moscoso, D-Mountlake Terrace, who crafted the amendment. The section of highway that remains to be widened is in his district.

That cold reality is true far beyond 522, Moscoso added, which doesn’t make getting 522 done any easier.

“Having been on the Transportation Commission now for five years, and until last year not really having a revenue package that could address anything — let alone putting it off for 10 or 12 years — is extremely frustrating,” Moscoso said. “We can look at the DOT schedules and the support and the requests from the local community… (But) unless we can find a sustainable revenue source to catch up, I don’t know how we’re going to get ahead on these projects.”

Tangled history

As far as state lawmakers involved at the time were concerned, the deal was done with the Regional Transportation Investment District agreement that sparked the failed ballot measure.

State Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, said Snohomish County government still has a role to play — the project can’t all fall on the state’s shoulders. “Very few people know the history lesson,” he said.

A pile of dirt was even left by state crews for the county to finish the project, he said. It’s still sitting there near the Paradise Lake signal, said Kristiansen, who commutes the corridor himself to Woodinville.

Leadership at Snohomish County has turned over a few times since then, and many projects stalled during the Great Recession.

“Snohomish County Public Works will continue to work with WSDOT to get this project built as soon as possible to best serve our residents,” said Owen Carter, deputy director of Public Works.

Still speaking up

Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas, Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick and U.S. 2 Traffic Safety Coalition’s Fred Walser of Sultan are among those leading the charge to secure funding.

Both city councils as well as the Monroe School Board have passed resolutions calling for funding and asking the county for help pushing for the project.

The next legislative session starts in January, and they plan to be back in Olympia making their case.

“We are concerned that if something is not done to fund to finish State Route 522, that it could be decades before the final improvements are made,” Thomas said.

Timeline

2001: WSDOT finished widening Highway 522 between Highway 9 and Paradise Lake Road

2003: Legislature expects RTID funding package to include continue widening Highway 522 to the Snohomish River

As a result, Legislature assigns Nickel Funding to logical next step, widening Highway 522 from the Snohomish River to U.S. 2

2006: New interchange at Echo Lake Road opens to traffic

RTID projects list drafted, including $1.5 billion for Snohomish County projects

2007: Voters turn down proposed $17.8 billion Roads and Transit package on Nov. 6 ballot, which included $127 million to widen Highway 522 to the Snohomish River and add a Paradise Lake Road interchange

2008: When construction could have begun if Roads and Transit package passed

2011: Construction on widening highway from Snohomish River to U.S. 2 starts

2012: New flyover ramp to eastbound U.S. 2 opens to traffic

2014: Added lanes from Snohomish River to U.S. 2 open to traffic

2015: State transportation funding package includes $10 million for design of Paradise Lake Road interchange, starting in 2025

Have a question? Email us at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your first and last name and city of residence. Look for updates on the Street Smarts blog.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.