State roads chief hears Mukilteo’s traffic plan

Published 11:15 pm Thursday, March 6, 2008

MUKILTEO — The state’s top transportation official believes a new road from the Boeing Freeway to Mukilteo’s ferry terminal could be the answer to one of the city’s long-running traffic problems.

At the city’s invitation, state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond visited the site of the proposed road that would extend Seaway Boulevard.

She rode in a van with Mayor Joe Marine, who has proposed punching a road through to Mukilteo’s waterfront. Seaway Boulevard runs through a wooded area, turns into 36th Avenue W. and ends about two miles from the Mukilteo ferry terminal.

Although Hammond said cost would be an issue, the transportation secretary was impressed by the size of the existing roads and the lack of traffic that commuters would face.

Hammond said she would like to see a feasibility study to evaluate Marine’s plan for a new road.

“Anything is doable from an engineering standpoint; we just have to have enough money to get it done,” she said.

Marine said he was pleased by Hammond’s response.

“If I can at least get a feasibility study to see if it makes sense, that’s all I’m asking for,” Marine said.

The van was filled with several city and state officials, including Washington State Ferries Director David Moseley and Director of Terminal Engineering John White.

After driving to the end of Seaway Boulevard, the van tour headed down Mukilteo Speedway, currently the only road that connects to the ferry terminal. Mukilteo Speedway is also the only road leading to the city’s waterfront, as well as a key access road for people who live near Old Town.

A new road would be expensive, but failing to build a new route would also be costly, Marine said during the tour.

Without a new road, Mukilteo Speedway would someday have to be widened to accommodate more ferry traffic, Marine said. That would require cutting into hillsides, filling in gullies and buying land from homeowners, he said.

Even Hammond mentioned how difficult widening the road would be.

“There’s nothing like being on the ground, driving the road, looking at it,” Marine said. “Those things have a much greater impact on her than seeing it on an overhead map somewhere.”

No cost estimates have been created for a new road.

Seaway Boulevard, the main access road to the Boeing plant, extends northwest from 20th Avenue W. off Highway 526.

Extending Seaway Boulevard shouldn’t cause additional traffic congestion around the Boeing plant or for other businesses around that area, Marine said. Ferry commuters would be driving a reverse commute from the current flow of traffic, he said.

Everett city engineers have expressed doubt about whether Seaway Boulevard could accommodate the increase in traffic. The city of Everett also doesn’t want to cause traffic problems for Boeing, which paid millions of dollars in mitigation fees when the company built its manufacturing plant.

A feasibility study for a new road to Mukilteo’s waterfront would point out any “fatal flaws” in the plan, Hammond said. Also, a study would be a good first step if the state wants to eventually buy property for a new road, she said.

“It’s really hard to get ahead of development if you can’t preserve your corridor, and that’s where a feasibility study could help,” Hammond said. “You could get some lines on a map.”

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.