$50 million project on 196th Street in Lynnwood now complete

If you’ve driven along 196th Street in Lynnwood over the past couple of years, you were dealing with an obstacle course of orange cones, barrels, and heavy street equipment.

At long last and $50 million later, the mile-long stretch of road is now complete and the newly-designed boulevard is now serving 40,000-50,000 cars daily.

From your car, you’ll notice the new trees and other landscapes along with the new pavement and added lanes.

What you can’t see is the updated infrastructure that will make adding businesses much easier.

“When these properties redevelop and they go up to six, 10 stories, this will already all be in the ground waiting for them,” Lynnwood City Engineer David Mach told The Everett Herald. “They will just tie into these connection points instead of having to upgrade up and down the road.”

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Looking at the funding for the project, $20 million came from the city, another $17 million from state grants and $9 million from federal dollars.

Many of the federal dollars were pushed for by Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington’s second district, who is the lead Democrat on the House Transportation Committee.

“I’m focused on long-term federal investment that creates more jobs and builds a cleaner, greener, safer and more accessible transportation system and we’re not done,” Larsen said. “Every day, not just today, but every day is infrastructure day in Lynnwood.”

The city had to obtain easements ranging from 5 to 15 feet up and down 196th Street to complete the project. This included the city using eminent domain to obtain some of the property needed.

The improved road is expected to open up the area to further development.

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The project also tees up the City Center Project, officials’ vision of a new Lynnwood. The city notes the following on its website:

The Lynnwood City Center is intended to become a vibrant commercial center and an appealing place to live, work and play.  There are a wide range of projects completed or underway intended to significantly upgrade the city’s transportation network, add new public spaces and parks, building housing, improve cultural attractions, create a pedestrian-friendly environment, and enhance livability in Lynnwood’s City Center.

A new Sound Transit Link station is expected to open just off 196th in the next several years.