Get ready drivers: it’s roadwork season

Published 7:52 am Friday, February 29, 2008

Baseball season is well underway, and hockey season in this area ended when the Everett Silvertips lost the Western Hockey League championship series recently.

Now, it’s time for roadwork season.

But while it’s unlikely anyone who drives in Mill Creek is happy about delays, blocked lanes and other consequences of road work, the city of Mill Creek has several projects planned for this summer, all of which, the city hopes, will make driving around town a bit easier in the long term.

Three major road projects are slated to take place this summer and fall.

Main Street extension

The first project to get started will be connecting Main Street with Mill Creek Boulevard and re-designing the current cul-de-sac in which several offices, including the Mill Creek Clinic and city hall, is located.

Plans show the cul-de-sac being eliminated in favor of Main Street becoming a two-lane road with a center turn lane and medians. Some of the lost parking spaces along the cul-de-sac will be replaced by more parking spaces at City Hall and the Mill Creek Clinic.

“Part of the goal is to have the existing commercial area connected with the new Town Center without drivers having to get on (the Bothell-Everett Highway),” public works director Doug Jacobson said.

Construction on the road is expected to begin in early July, with the opening set for mid-September to coincide with the expected opening of Central Market in Town Center, project manager Scott Smith said.

Cost is $675,000, with funding coming from traffic mitigation fees.

Intersection redesign

One project that the city hopes will improve traffic flow is a redesign of Mill Creek Boulevard where it meets with 164th Street SE. The plan will create three traffic lanes on southbound Mill Creek Boulevard – one each for left turns, right turns and through traffic. A new traffic signal will also be installed, as will a new signal controller. Sidewalks and ramps will also be replaced on each corner.

Jacobson said that project, which is estimated to cost $107,000, will begin construction in late summer. That project is also being funded by traffic mitigation fees.

Dumas Road widening

In terms of cost, the largest project will be widening Dumas Road. The $3.25 million project will widen lanes from 10 to 14 feet, add a center turn lane or landscaped median, and add curbs, gutters and a six- to 10-foot wide sidewalk on both sides of the street with landscaping.

The Dumas project, which is being funded by grants, federal funds and city traffic mitigation fees, is tentatively slated to start in late summer or early fall.

“We wanted to start that one earlier, but right of way (acquisition) issues have held it up,” Smith said.

In addition, the city wanted to wait on that project until work on the Bothell-Everett Highway was done, which the state is expecting to complete in June. Since construction will cause closures of Dumas Road at times, the city wanted to make sure detour routes wouldn’t run through another construction zone.

Re-paving work

In addition to the construction projects, several streets are targeted for re-paving this summer, staring in mid-July. Streets include the Fairway neighborhood, Country Club Drive, 148th Street SE by Mill Creek Elementary School, Village Green Drive between 26th Drive and 152nd Place, 136th Street SE, and 138th Street SE and 14th Drive SE.

The status, however, of the re-paving effort is up in the air because of record-level oil prices.

“Oil prices going up has driven up the cost of paving roads,” Jacobson said.

In terms of cost, the re-paving program is the second most expensive road endeavor the city will tackle, costing $800,000. Funds come from state gas tax revenues, previous vehicle license fees and real estate excise taxes.