ARLINGTON – The city’s latest proposed six-year plan for transportation projects will bring much-needed road and pedestrian safety investments.
The Transportation Improvement Plan, or TIP, contains 21 road and trail projects from 2018-2023 totaling $88 million, including $6.8 million in design and construction projects for next year.
A public hearing on the plan is set for 7 p.m. at the City Council meeting Monday.
Key among city-guided projects is Arlington Valley Road from 67th Avenue to 204th Street, Public Works Director Jim Kelly said.
The $4.5 million project in 2018 could be a boon for economic development, opening up new avenues for future industrial and manufacturing development. The project would add a new three-lane road that would divert truck and freight movement from general roadways, and add a multi-use trail connecting 67th to 74th Street.
The project is being funded with state and federal transportation and economic revitalization dollars, Oso slide funding, utility funds and other sources.
A related project is a roundabout at 204th and 77th Avenue that would be designed next year for installation in 2019. The intersection is bound to see more commercial and residential activity, most notably a business park led by Bartell Drugs and a 183-unit apartment complex planned for openings in 2018.
Other projects will address needs on two state highways within Arlington city limits.
“You may have heard of this project,” Kelly said jokingly in referencing the widening of Highway 531.
The $39.8 million project would widen a half-mile span of Highway 531 between 43rd and 67th avenues that see an average of 22,000 cars per day. Design plans anticipate roundabouts at 43rd, 51st, 59th and 67th avenues.
Kelly said that state project would take at least two years to do, commencing in 2022.
Other nearby projects such as 173rd Street would take pressure off of 172nd traffic while also creating better access into the Arlington Airport Business Park to help make the complex more marketable.
Island Crossing improvements are also planned for Highway 530. The $10 million project would install a roundabout connecting Highway 530 and Smokey Point Boulevard just east of the existing “triangle,” with road improvements west to I-5. Both the city and Stillaguamish Tribe have long-term economic development plans within that corridor. Closer to downtown, the “T” intersection where Burke connects with Highway 9 would gain a traffic signal. The intersection can be troublesome for local motorist at times, particularly during peak commuting hours, in part because of the intersection’s proximity to Highway 9 and Division Street to the south, which is also scheduled for signalization improvements.
The transportation plan contains several trail and sidewalk projects incorporated into road projects or standalone, emphasizing the city leaders’ commitment to expanding non-motorized infrastructure for pedestrians and bicyclists.Among them is East Highland Drive, which would add a sidewalk and trail from Olympic Avenue.
