MALTBY – It will be a while before it makes a difference, but work on widening the south end of Highway 9 in Snohomish County has begun.
Crews this week began re-striping the highway between Highway 522 and 228th Street SE, shifting traffic to the west to give them the room they need to construct two extra lanes.
The $33.5 million project involves widening two miles of the increasingly congested two-lane highway between Highway 522 and Maltby Road. Turn lanes will be installed at major intersections. The work is expected to take two years.
Traffic will have to stop periodically for the re-striping, which can take place only during dry weather, said Travis Phelps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. Construction crews will paint temporary roadway stripes and set concrete barriers during the lane shifts.
The highway will have to be completely closed at times as work progresses over the two-year period, Phelps said. Notices will be sent out beforehand, he said.
“We’re going to do our best to stay away from the main commuting hours,” which will involve some work at night, Phelps said.
The money for the widening comes from the gas-tax increase approved by the Legislature in 2003.
Another $133 million for Highway 9 was approved by the Legislature in 2005, with $60 million going to expand eight intersections from Maltby to Arlington. Those include Frontier Village in Lake Stevens and Marsh Road south of Snohomish. Another $6 million will be used to build a new bridge over Pilchuck Creek.
The work on the Marsh Road intersection is scheduled to be done between 2008 and 2010. The rest of the Highway 9 work is planned for 2010 to 2012.
About $67 million is available to widen the highway for short stretches. The state is working with Snohomish County and cities along the route to determine the best places to spend the money, Phelps said.
“What we want to do is fix the worst spots first,” he said.
Breanne Worley, who works at Gotta Go Espresso at 23128 Highway 9, is glad work is getting started.
“I definitely think they need to do that,” she said of the widening project. “This road is backed up every day.”
Herald reporter Lukas Velush contributed to this story.
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