The state would make its first major safety improvement in years on deadly and congested U.S. 2 under versions of the state budget lawmakers are considering this week.
More than $730,000 is set aside to install centerline rumble strips – divots that cause vibrations when a car’s tires roll over them – on a 41-mile stretch of the highway from Monroe to Stevens Pass.
Many of the fatal accidents occurring on the highway have involved cars crossing the centerline and causing head-on collisions.
The money has been included in the budgets proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, the House and the Senate, said Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish.
Lawmakers are consolidating those budgets into a final one before the Legislature adjourns on Sunday.
Last-minute budget negotiations tend to be chaotic and could push the money for U.S. 2 off the table, Kristiansen said.
“There’s always a chance for that,” he said.
Joe Beavers of Gold Bar said he and others recently sent a petition with about 250 signatures to Gov. Chris Gregoire in hopes that the money for rumble strips would remain in the final budget.
“I didn’t want to see us go another year without anything,” Beavers said.
The U.S. 2 Safety Coalition, a grass-roots group of local officials and residents, has hired a lobbyist in Olympia for the first time this year and met with lawmakers to win money for their highway, said Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser, the group’s chairman.
“Highway 2 is on their radar screen,” he said.
Since 1999, 43 people have died in collisions on U.S. 2 between Snohomish and Stevens Pass, according to the state accident data. Of those fatalities, 14 occurred in crossover crashes.
The state hasn’t spent money for major improvements on the highway for years. In 2006, a series of fatal accidents helped supporters of the highway lock in $700,000 from the state toward a $1.3 million safety study on U.S. 2.
This year, Kristiansen and Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, have unsuccessfully introduced bills to squirrel away money for U.S. 2.
Pearson said having rumble strips down the middle of the road will provide limited benefit because the 18-inch centerline is too narrow.
“However, it’s better than a painted line,” he said.
Kristiansen said rumble strips could improve safety on the road, but won’t cure the highway’s problems, he said.
“Obviously, we want a lot more than that,” he said.
Snohomish County has pledged $1.5 million for U.S. 2 improvements, said Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers, who represents the Skykomish Valley. The county could use part of the money as a matching fund for the state projects on U.S. 2, Somers said.
The installation of rumble strips between Monroe and Stevens Pass is one of the improvement projects recommended in the state safety study, which is due later this year.
Preliminary findings of the study suggest that overall improvements on the highway between Snohomish and Stevens Pass would cost more than $1 billion. The state is considering widening the highway from two lanes to four lanes between Snohomish and west of Monroe and between east of Monroe and Gold Bar.
State engineers also suggest building a U.S. 2 bypass around Monroe. A portion of the bypass worth $40 million is expected to be included in a list of transportation projects proposed by the Regional Transportation Investment District. Voters in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties are set to decide on the list of the projects on Nov. 6.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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