The House is preparing to roll out its version of a transportation package, perhaps as early as this week. The governor’s original transportation budget included only $81.1 million in projects for Snohomish County. Thanks to the work of Sen. Hobbs, Sen. Liias and the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, the package that passed the Senate included $570 million for Snohomish County. The $570 million figure is a much better reflection of our county’s contribution to the state economy.
Unfortunately, two Snohomish projects that would alleviate traffic congestion, increase freight mobility and increase job center connectivity were left out. Those projects are the Paradise Lake Road interchange and the widening of Highway 522 from Highway 524 to the Snohomish River. Residents who live in the Maltby and Echo Lake neighborhoods, as well as commuters to and from Monroe, are intimately aware of the bottleneck that exists on Highway 522.
The last significant transportation investment by the state was in 2005. There is no telling when the Legislature will invest in our road infrastructure again. Let’s not wait another 10 years to fix an obvious problem that is only getting worse. You can send a message to the Legislature to include these projects at www.fix522.com.
Guy Palumbo
Snohomish
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