Following a quick tour of U.S. 2, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Tuesday urged state lawmakers to set aside their political differences and work together to save lives on the deadly and congested highway.
The highway has “a significant safety issue” and needs major improvements, the governor said.
“It’s about how we solve the problem. We do have a problem out here,” Gregoire said to a group of residents and officials in Sultan.
The governor toured U.S. 2 between Everett and Sultan, saw the highway’s traffic and condition and learned about improvement projects proposed on the highway. Afterward, Gregoire met with the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition in Sultan, a grass-roots group of residents, officials and business people in the Skykomish Valley. The group has fought to make the highway safer.
Population in the valley, once considered rustic countryside, has grown too fast to keep traffic on the highway untangled, Gregoire said.
“The good news is this part of the state is growing fast. The bad news is the traffic congestion that it has caused,” she said.
The governor said she is brainstorming with other officials about how to secure money to improve the highway. Gregoire said she plans to recommend to the Legislature in January some improvements for U.S. 2.
The governor’s visit on U.S. 2 could be a turning point to make the highway safer, said Sultan City Councilman John Seehuus, one of the founding members of the safety coalition. The group was created a decade ago, but never had a governor toured the highway until Tuesday.
“I’m just glad we got it,” Seehuus said. “Maybe it’s taken 10 years to do it. If it takes another 10 years, we will do it.”
Since 1999, 45 people have died in accidents on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass, according to the state Department of Transportation. Of those fatalities, 15 occurred in crossover crashes.
Residents told the governor stories about how they have lost their friends in U.S. 2 crashes. On May 2, Genevieve Jelinek, a longtime Sultan resident and nurse, died in a crossover crash. In her career, she tended people who were injured in U.S. 2 accidents.
The Legislature this year set aside $731,000 to add centerline rumble strips — divots that alert drivers when they stray into the oncoming lane — on U.S. 2 between east of Monroe and Stevens Pass. Snohomish County has pledged $1.5 million to match funds for U.S. 2 projects.
State engineers estimate that overall improvements on the highway would cost more than $1 billion. But no money has been set aside for major improvement projects proposed on U.S. 2. A road and transit tax that voters will decide upon in November includes $40 million to build a portion of a bypass around Monroe.
The highway, the only cross-state alternative route to I-90, didn’t get any money out of the state’s gas tax spending plans in 2003 and 2005, while other roads such as I-5 and Highway 9 landed millions of dollars. Some state lawmakers blamed partisan politics.
It’s time to stop playing politics and to start saving lives, Gregoire said.
“Get over it. Get past it. It’s time to work together,” she said.
The governor also stopped by the new YMCA in Monroe on Tuesday, where about 60 people, including residents, business people and officials emphasized the importance of U.S. 2 improvements.
That the governor toured U.S. 2 shows that momentum has been built to make the highway safer, said Fred Walser, who leads the safety coalition with his wife, Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser. The coalition was formed in 1997 after Walser, then police chief in Sutlan, lost his assistant in a crossover crash on U.S. 2.
Meanwhile, the state is expected to release a $1.3 million safety study on U.S. 2 later this month. Major projects recommended in the study include expanding the highway from two to four lanes between Snohomish and west of Monroe, and between east of Monroe and Sultan. The study also suggests building a new interchange at Bickford Avenue on the highway in Snohomish to improve traffic safety and flow at the busy intersection. A bypass around Monroe has also been proposed to improve traffic in Monroe, a growing city of about 16,000 people where three highways — U.S. 2, Highway 522 and Highway 203 — integrate. Although U.S. 2 has five lanes through the city, traffic often goes bumper to bumper.
A portion of the bypass worth $40 million is included in a list of transportation projects proposed by the Regional Transportation Investment District. Voters in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties on Nov. 6 are being asked to approve the three-county road and transit package.
Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, said to the governor that the state has planned the Monroe bypass for decades. She asked Gregoire to check into why it’s taken so long to build it.
“They studied it, studied it and studied it,” Stevens said.
Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, said that U.S. 2 is his top issue. He said he will work with the Democratic governor to improve it.
“We need your help to get this done,” Kristiansen said to Gregoire.
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