EVERETT — Crews will begin initial construction work next week on a $142 million widening of Highway 9 in Snohomish.
As part of the project, the Washington State Department of Transportation will build an entirely new bridge across the Snohomish River and make repairs to the current one, increasing the width of the congested road to two lanes in each direction, instead of one. The project will also widen the roads between Marsh Road and 2nd Street while also making improvements to the on-ramp from 2nd Street to the state highway.
The first step before construction officially begins — pile driving west of the existing Highway 9 bridge to support the foundation of the new bridge — is set to start on Nov. 21 or 24, according to Della Kostelnik Juarez, a WSDOT spokesperson. That work will be very loud and continue through April, she said Thursday.
Pile driving work will be limited to daytime hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“There is no way around it, pile driving is loud and we’re asking for people to have patience as we make this positive upgrade for Snohomish travelers,” Kostelnik Juarez wrote in an email.
That work will not have any impact on drivers traveling through the area. After the pile driving is complete, construction crews will begin widening the state highway in spring 2026. Some of that work may require lane closures along Highway 9, Kostelnik Juarez said. The Lowell-Snohomish Road connecting Everett to Snohomish may also need to be closed as the project continues, ranging from possible 2-week closures to a potential 6-month closure, according to the Department of Transportation. Detours will also be in place for freight traffic.
Kostelnik Juarez said the project will improve traffic conditions for drivers traveling through the area by the time the project — expected to finish in 2028 — is complete. Other upgrades will include a repainting of the existing bridge over the Snohomish River and accessibility improvements near the intersection of Highway 9 and Marsh Road.
“People are using State Route 9 as a major thoroughfare, and we need infrastructure that supports how people are using our roads currently,” Kostelnik Juarez said. “Because of the amount of traffic, there’s a great deal of bottle-necking and traffic building up, especially around rush hour, the bridge and the road there just needs to accommodate more traffic.”
Heather Thomas-Murphy, the Snohomish City Administrator, said the improvement project will ease congestion for residents in Snohomish and surrounding communities.
“By widening the highway and upgrading bridges and ramps, the project will reduce traffic bottlenecks, increase travel reliability, and improve access to our local businesses and tourist destinations,” Thomas-Murphy wrote.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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