GLOBE THE MARYSVILLE
Vol. 126 No. 46
Holiday: Like Arlington, Marysville now has a Fourth of July fireworks event that includes games, music, food and explosions. See Page 6
WEEKENDEDITION EDITION JUNE 8TH,30, 2014 WWW.MARYSVILLEGLOBE.COM 75¢ WEEKEND JUNE 2019 WWW.MARYSVILLEGLOBE.COM 75¢
Plan to reduce traffic woes By Steven Powell spowell@marysvilleglobe.com
MARYSVILLE – Traffic continues to be a main concern of city residents, and the city’s new six-year Transportation Improvement Program continues to try to address it. The plan spends $55 million in 2020, $10.2 million in grants, and $425 million over the six years, with funds coming from a variety of sources. City engineer Jeff Laycock said at Monday’s City Council meeting that the I-5 interchange at 156th for the first time is in the plan, since state funding on it is set to begin in 2025. Also, 156th itself is being extended east due to “all the development,” including a Roy Robinson car dealership. Work also is planned on Sunnyside Boulevard to deal with traffic that will be headed that direction because of the First Street Bypass. And the city will “vigorously be looking at intersections” in the Whiskey Ridge area because of all of the development there. Major projects in the plan include: •I-5 improvements: Northbound Peak Hour Use Lane and Interchange Improvements at Highway 529; along with interchange improvements at 4th and 88th, along with 156th. •Arterial Improvements with First Street Bypass, State Avenue from 100th to 116th, 88th St. Corridor, Grove Street Overcrossing and 156th St. Overcrossing. •Economic Development at 51st, 156th and 160th at the Cascade Industrial Center, along with 35th, 40th and 87th at Whiskey Ridge. •Non-Motorized projects include the Ebey Waterfront Trail and Centennial Trail Connection. Funding for the different projects includes: •Joint Agency Projects: 2020 costs $26.6
STEVE POWELL/STAFF PHOTO
A large crane sits on the east side of the First Street Bypass project construction in Marysville as the sun goes down Wednesday. It is just one of many projects planned to ease traffic woes in town.
million, including $19.6 million state, $5 million feds, $250,000 each from city and county, and $1.5 million to be determined. Projects include: 88th St. from State to 67th; Soper Hill Road and 83rd Ave. intersection; I-5 Peak Hour Use Lanes and Interchange Improvements at Highway 529; 88th St. interchange; and Highway 528
interchange. •Widening/Lane Addition Projects: 2020 costs $7.8 million, fairly evenly distributed from city, grants and developer. 100th to 104th St. NE. •New alignment projects: 2020 costs $10.58 million, $1 million from developer and $8 million bonded for First Street Bypass. Also developer
funded extension at 156th St. NE. •Non-motorized projects: 2020 cost $1.6 million, including $1.24 from grants and $13,000 TBD. Centennial Trail Connection, Phase 4 of Ebey Waterfront Trail and 80th St. NE right of way. •Traffic safety and See PLAN, Page 2
Herald THE SUNDAY
An Edition of
Designation means more M’ville jobs For years, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring has been touting the city as a place to live, work and play. He’s been right about living and playing. Now he’s right about working, too. Thanks to an official designation made Thursday, the Cascade Industrial Center, formerly known as the Arlington Marysville Manufacturing and Industrial Center, is ripe to take off, providing family wage jobs for up to 25,000 people by 2040. There are already 8,000 people working there with many more to come soon. The Puget Sound Regional Council made the CIC the region’s 10th designated regional manufacturing industrial center. MICs receive priority for federal transportation dollars, as they are expected to contribute significantly to regional economic and employment growth. The CIC comprises over 4,000 acres, including more than 1,700 acres of developable, partially used and vacant sites in Arlington and Marysville. Streamlined permitting and business-friendly incentives help recruit, retain and expand businesses in the CIC, including a 10-year city and county property tax exemption, no city business and occupation tax, a reduced state B&O tax for aerospace, general industrial, food processing and timber, customized worker training grants and Opportunity Zones that get federal support. The mayors of Marysville and Arlington celebrated the PSRC designation, which capped an intense four-year process. “Businesses will find affordability and an enviable quality of life for their employees,” Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said. “Residents will gain the opportunity to trade their
commutes for working closer to home.” The cost of doing business here instead of to the south is also a factor, he said. “North Snohomish County offers businesses and workers a naturally beautiful and enviable quality of life at a bargain price compared to Seattle and Bellevue,” Nehring said, adding the median home value in Marysville and Arlington is half the price than in Seattle. He said investments made by his city and Arlington in stormwater detention and road work have been key to attracting businesses already to the CIC. Other infrastructure site benefits include high-speed fiber, rail lines, excellent freeway and highway access, Arlington Airport and nearby Port of Everett, he said. The state has funded a new Interstate 5 freeway exit at 156th Street NE that will go straight to the center, starting in 2025. The state is also widening Highway 531, the east-west highway that runs through the business center starting in 2021. “And newly opened passenger air service at nearby Paine Field is the icing on the transportation cake, making it easy to fly in and out within minutes instead of hours,” he said. Arlington Mayor Barbara Tolbert also is excited. “Our goal to benefit our residents with access to good employment opportunities close to home is now well on the way to being achieved.”