Traffic can get tied up real quick in the Lowell area of Everett when a train comes through the crossing where Lenora Street turns into Lowell Snohomish River Road.

Jim Jackson has lived in the Lowell neighborhood since 1974. With more people and more trains, the backups have gotten quite awful.

“The river road’s a heavily used road. All it takes is one train during peak commute time and it’s a real traffic jam here,” Jackson says. “I know the city’s aware of it, but it doesn’t seem to be any kind of priority.”

Indeed, the crossing is on the city’s radar, but it’s far down the list.

“It is unlikely the Lenora project will be constructed except as a long-range project,” city engineer Tim Miller said.

A 2009 study of freight access and mobility ranked the Lenora crossing last in a list of 20 candidate projects. The project was estimated at the time to cost $10.6 million.

The Lenora overpass remains in the city’s transportation improvement program, but is not in line for any kind of cash.

Projects from that 2009 study that have been completed are shoulder driving on the eastbound Highway 2 trestle, and improvements to the 112th Street interchange at I-5, including the new park and ride and carpool lane ramps.

The No. 1 ranked project — itself the first of a two-phase project to improve the freight route to the Port of Everett — was just awarded for construction to Marshbank Construction of Lake Stevens for $2.7 million.

When complete, the entire project, estimated at roughly $37 million, will improve several key intersections to reduce rear-end collisions (along Pacific Avenue, and at 41st Street and Rucker Avenue) and redirect truck traffic away from the downtown core.

Part of the work will involve shifting the Highway 529 designation off of Everett Avenue, and instead push the highway moniker farther south to 41st Street, where a new I-5 interchange already is done.

“Because these projects cost many millions of dollars, we look for grant funding to help defray their cost to the city. The availability of grant funding is a consideration in which order projects are constructed,” added Marla Carter, a spokeswoman for the Public Works department.

As it is, the Lenora overpass at one point had a $4.3 million state grant lined up. A lack of local matching funds at the time, and the complete lack of interest among freight-moving stakeholders, nixed its chances.

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