ARLINGTON — Four state highways run through the city.
So when Arlington compiles its annual transportation improvement plan, city officials hope the state takes notice. For planning and budgeting purposes, a draft transportation plan is required by municipalities and is sent to the state Department of Transportation each year.
The plan is always a work in progress, said Mayor Margaret Larson.
And the plan in Arlington always includes Highway 531, otherwise known as 172nd Street. The city and the state share responsibility — and the cost — for maintaining and improving the road.
Because Highway 531 is a gateway to the city and because it carries freight and lots of local traffic, the road tops the annual transportation plan wish list, city public works director Len Olive said.
“172nd means so much to the city, and anyone who drives it knows how bad it gets during the peak travel times,” Olive said. “The old highway has outlived its functionality.”
The city would like to see improvements to the ramps to and from I-5 at Highway 531.
It wants the road widened from 43rd Avenue NE all the way to Highway 9. Under the plan, 172nd Street NE would include five lanes, including a turning lane, medians and sidewalks wide enough for bicycle travel.
And it hopes that all its connected streets will be improved.
“This is our primary goal and where we hope to attempt to influence the state,” Olive said. “We are optimistic that, if funded incrementally, that it can happen.”
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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