Karen Hart of Clearview asked when the next phase of the Highway 9 widening project will resume. The state project most recently wrapped up widening the highway from 212th Street SE to 176th Street SE.
The highway now has three lanes until just north of 180th Street SE, “which creates a huge jam-up of cars and almost daily accidents as it becomes the old two lanes,” Hart notes. “Is this going to be fixed any time soon?”
This is a question the state Department of Transportation gets a lot, said Kris Olsen, a spokesperson for WSDOT.
“Improving SR 9 between 176th and SR 96 is a priority project for us,” Olsen said. “Completing that section and continuing to improve other areas on SR 9 is on WSDOT’s ‘Priorities for New Revenue – 2013 Unfunded System Investments List’ for legislative consideration.”
So far, the Legislature has provided money for design work and to begin right-of-way surveying and acquisition in that area, setting the stage for when money for actual construction is approved.
“We anticipate that it could be at least two to three years before construction begins, depending on when the Legislature allocates the money for it,” Olsen said.
Transportation funding is a major discussion this session in Olympia.
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