TULALIP – Traffic at an oft-congested intersection near Quil Ceda Village will be eased, thanks to a new roundabout and a road extension set to open today, Marysville and Tulalip officials said.
The changes are part of a larger, four-phase project that has brought together the state Department of Transportation, the Tulalip Tribes and the city of Marysville.
“We’re only part of the project,” said Steve Gobin, deputy general manager of Quil Ceda Village, the casino and retail arm of the Tulalip Tribes. “The city of Marysville has done some real work on this, too.”
Marysville widened 116th Street east of I-5 from two lanes to five lanes, city spokesman Doug Buell said.
Beginning today, traffic on Quil Ceda Boulevard, which runs alongside the Tulalip Casino and Seattle Premium Outlets, will be able to continue north of 116th Street and curve around toward the roundabout, also called a traffic circle, which will connect with 34th Avenue.
The changes will move traffic away from Donna’s Truck Stop near 116th Street, said Edward Koltonowski, a consultant working with the Tulalip Tribes on the project. Trucks headed there were among the main causes of congested traffic.
The stoplight at the 116th Street interchange will be removed to allow for a left-turn lane for the trucks, Koltonowski said.
The project cost more than $12 million, divided among federal and state transportation dollars and the Tulalip Tribes.
The next phase of the project is to replace culverts to improve fish passage in Quil Ceda Creek at a cost of about $2 million, Gobin said. The state has already funded nearly half of that money.
The final stage of the project will be to construct a single-point urban interchange between Marysville and Tulalip, he said.
Tulalip, Marysville and state transportation officials will hold a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. at the new 34th Avenue roundabout.
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