The Puget Sound Regional Council’s Executive Board approved the 2013-2016 Regional Transportation Improvement Program on Oct. 25, which will bring $7.9 billion to planned projects in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.
Bothell and Kenmore are slated to receive $5.7 million alone.
“Securing federal transportation funding for communities in the region is one of the key roles of the Puget Sound Regional Council,” said Commissioner Josh Brown, PSRC president. “These projects are advancing a better system that gets people and goods where they need to go, provides transportation choices, and helps grow jobs in the region.”
The projects are funded with federal, state and local funds, including recent federal grants awarded through the PSRC.
The Bothell area, incorporated and non-incorporated, to receive grant money are the Bothell-Everett Highway and I-405 interchange paving project ($676,000), the N.E. 195th Street and 120th Ave. N.E. corridor overlay project in North Creek ($350,000) and the SR 522 multimodal corridor phase 3 improvements project from 83rd to Wayne Curve near the Bothell and Kenmore border ($4 million).
The Bothell-Everett Highway interchange project is designed to rehabilitate the existing pavement to preserve the structural integrity of the roadway. The total cost of the program is $3.3 million.
Kenmore will receive needed funds for the Juanita Drive N.E./68th Ave. N.E. asphalt overlay project from N.E. 143rd Street to N.E. 175th Street ($636,725). The project will reshape approximately 9,000 feet of pavement. It will provide appropriate traffic control and field inspection during construction, and re-establish pavement markings when the paving is complete. The total estimated cost for the project is $1.2 million.
“It is a big win for us,” said Kenmore City Manager Rob Karlinsey.
Karlinsey said that work that was done to secure the money was done before he became city manager earlier this year.
“It is competitive for those grants,” said Karlinsey. “They had to make the case for it.”
He said that Kenmore’s road rating study prioritized the city’s needs and helped in getting the grant.
The city is still considering a $20 annual vehicle fee for Kenmore residents to help fund road maintenance.
