Members of the community are invited to an open house to learn about a project that will help keep traffic and freight moving at the intersection of State Route 9 and State Route 204 in Lake Stevens.

Congestion at the busy intersection of SR 9/SR 204 in Lake Stevens currently means big backups and delays that affects commuters, freight haulers and local businesses daily.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is considering improvements that create better connections for all users of the road which includes, pedestrians, transit riders, bicyclists and drivers. WSDOT needs help from the public to identify solutions that will improve traffic flow, trip reliability, freight movement and safety.

“Community input is key for shaping this project,” said WSDOT Engineering Manager Cathy George. “We want to ensure that our work reflects the needs of the public now and for years to come.”

Open house information

• What: SR 9 – SR 204 Intersection Improvements project open house
• When: 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 19
• Where: Hillcrest Elementary School Cafeteria, 9315 4th Street SE, Lake Stevens

There is no formal presentation at the open house. WSDOT staff will be available to discuss the project with attendees and answers questions.

The project schedule includes working with the public to develop ideas for improvements through early 2017, followed by designing the selected improvements between 2017 and 2018.

The $69.5 million project is funded by the 2015 Connecting Washington transportation package. Construction is scheduled to begin by 2019.

 

The rebuilding of Grade Road between the 30th St NE/Catherine Drive intersection and the 32nd St NE intersection is complete. When the installation of a guardrail on the east side of the roadway is done the City will reopen the roadway. It has been closed since a year ago this month due to the undermining of the roadway by Catherine Creek which runs alongside the road on the east side. The creek had been eroding the earth under the road for a long time. The City had been monitoring this, but, one Monday morning, it was decided--rightly so--that the lack of dirt created a huge hazard for the traveling public.

 

Because of environmental issues and the requirements related to fish spawning streams, the City as forced to delay the rebuilding of the road until there was very little flowing water in the Creek. Marshbank Construction of Lake Stevens was given the contract to rebuild. Local company, local jobs. Here are photos of the finished road. In a recent memo, City Councilman Sam Low thanked residents along and adjacent to Grade Road for their patience for the past twelve months.

 

Broad view of the edge of the creek adjacent to Grade Road. The creek is by the logs and heads south to the standing trees. The large grey rock pile in the forefront is to disperse the runoff from the road surface. There's three of these in this section.

 

 

This is a close up of the rip rap in the creek bed. These stalks will soon grow into bushes that will be used by numerous animal life in the stream bed.