SMOKEY POINT – The door to this community’s traffic future was opened a crack on Saturday with the ceremonial start of construction on a new 172nd Street NE bridge over I-5.
Without the new six-lane overpass, growth in the region, which Arlington and Marysville view as their top area for new businesses, would have been severely curtailed.
As it is, 51,000 vehicles cross the two-lane overpass each day, creating congestion that causes traffic backups so massive that firetrucks and ambulances have trouble responding to emergencies.
Despite boasting of flat, unencumbered land that’s so enticing that NASCAR is considering building a racetrack here, new development in Smokey Point has been held in check because of the access problems.
“This is a great example of private citizens saying what their needs are and the government responding to their needs,” said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash, whose 2nd Congressional District includes the area.
The road hasn’t been an easy one.
“We’ve fought, fought and fought,” said state Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington.
Community leaders have been working at getting a new bridge for more than a decade. They got as far as having the state Department of Transportation announce that it had the money to build the bridge, only to have that disappear in 1999 when voters passed Initiative 695, which took away the funding.
The last straw came when the bridge was not included on a list of projects funded by last year’s 5-cent state gasoline tax hike.
“That was exactly what spurred us into action,” said Becky Foster, co-chairwoman of a grass-roots group that fought for a year for the $9 million needed to build the bridge.
Called the Marysville-Arlington Transportation Relief Action Plan, the group pursued funding from every source available, including Arlington, Marysville, Congress, two state agencies, Snohomish County and the Tulalip Tribes.
Many of those who were persuaded to allocate money for the project were on hand Saturday to celebrate, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
It was citizens who made the project possible, Murray said.
They had the “energy and ability to get it done,” she added.
The bumpy road toward obtaining funds for the bridge became even more interesting in June, when the lowest construction bid on the project came in $2 million higher than anticipated.
Foster said the group scrambled to chase down the extra millions, nearly missing a deadline that would have delayed construction by months, if not longer.
The new six-lane bridge is expected to alleviate the congestion until surrounding roads can be rebuilt and expanded.
The north three lanes will be built next to the existing bridge first, which means traffic on the existing bridge will not be restricted, said Victoria Tobin, a Transportation Department spokeswoman.
Once those lanes are built, traffic will be routed onto them, the old bridge will be removed, and the last three lanes will be built.
There will be some nighttime lane closures on I-5, and at least one detour of traffic off I-5 so girders can be set up at the project site.
There also will be occasional lane closures on both I-5 and 172nd Street NE during nonpeak traffic hours.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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