A new traffic signal was expected to light up in time for the Nov. 14 morning commute on Highway 9.
The signal at 32nd Street SE in Lake Stevens aims to improve safety, particularly for drivers trying to make left turns on and off Highway 9 in fast-moving traffic. The intersection was the site of 18 collisions from 2006 to 2010, including one serious injury collision.
The new signal was combined with another Washington Department of Transportation project on Highway 9 more than seven miles north in Marysville, at 84th Street NE (Getchell Road), where a roundabout was installed.
Both those projects are part of a larger effort that started in 2000 to improve the Highway 9 corridor through Snohomish County. By 2017, the state expects to have spent $300 million on improvements.
The new 32nd Street signal project cost $2.2 million, covered by existing funds. The roundabout was budgeted at $14.6 million but came in at $6.75 million, funded with gas tax revenue. The $7.85 million savings is to be used for other Highway 9 projects.
Most of the projects on that list are done or operationally complete. One big-ticket item remains. The state now hopes to drum up enough funding to replace the southbound Snohomish River bridge at Snohomish.
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