U.S. 2 safety talks continue

Published 11:06 pm Sunday, April 20, 2008

MONROE — A discussion on how to use $10 million for U.S. 2 safety improvements continues.

Everyone is welcome to attend the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition’s meeting tonight in Monroe. The grass-roots group of residents, business people and officials in the Skykomish Valley wants to hear from people about which safety projects need to be tackled to make the highway safer, said Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser, who leads the group with her husband, Fred Walser.

“It’s a public process,” Donnetta Walser said. “A lot of people have lost their family and friends” in U.S. 2 crashes.

The Legislature this year decided to set aside $10 million for deadly U.S. 2. Since 1999, 48 people have been killed in accidents and crashes on the narrow, winding highway between Snohomish and Stevens Pass, according to state accident data.

Also, the state is set to start installing centerline rumble strips along U.S. 2 between east of Monroe and Stevens Pass in May to prevent crossover accidents. The $3.9 million project is expected to wrap up this summer.

The safety coalition started soliciting ideas from the public about how to use the $10 million last month.

U.S. 2 needs a lot of work.

The state has identified 56 projects for the highway in a new safety study, which came out last year. Overall improvements for U.S. 2 are expected to cost about $2 billion.

“We are not done with securing funding,” Walser said. “This is a beginning. It’s a big step. It’s very important.”

In March, state officials designated U.S. 2 as a safety corridor. The designation makes federal money available for education, engineering and enforcement efforts on U.S. 2. New safety signs were added along the highway to kick off the efforts.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.