Rob Dietz of Arlington writes: “What is going on on 172nd Street where all of the new construction is taking place — apartments, Dick’s… The road that has been re-routed in front to the new apartments is a maze of cones and bends in the road. Meanwhile, it seems nothing new is occurring on the roadway, large equipment is sitting in the middle of the road, and all kinds of pipes and what appears to be pumping equipment is along the road.”
The work is tied to the extensive Smokey Point Town Center development.
In a Herald Business Journal story in September, Marysville city officials said long-term traffic plans around the area include an I-5 interchange at 156th Street NE and a new road south of 172nd Street NE. In the meantime, there will be signal improvements at 27th Avenue and along the Highway 531 frontage road, and re-routing 25th Avenue to move its intersection with 172nd St. NE farther from the congested entrance to Lakewood Crossing.
In response to Dietz’s specific question, city Planning Manager Chris Holland responds: “The developer is constructing a roundabout (RAB) at the new intersection of 23rd Avenue NE and 172nd Street NE (SR 531). The traffic has been re-routed to the north in order to install stormwater facilities and extend the sewer main. Most of the stormwater improvements have been completed, however, they continue to dewater in order to install the sewer main.
“Once the sewer main is installed the developer will then start constructing the south portion of the RAB. Once the south portion of the RAB is complete traffic will be re-routed to the south in order to construct the north potion of the RAB. Completion is really weather dependent; however, originally it was stated that it would be a 3-month project.”
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