Hello Neighbors,
Some of our community attended the Highway 9 meeting on 2/7. Thank you to Bill W., Tom W. and Mike G. for collaborating on their notes and sharing this communication with us.
Info Update:
We spent quite a bit of time with Sharif Shaklawun, project engineer (Tel: 206-440-4272) shaklas@wsdot.wa.gov. He was very helpful and informative and promised to send some requested maps, etc.
1. Going north, Phase III will “cut the corner” from the northern end of Phase II, i.e. will require expansion to the east (only) of HWY 9, as we suspected. One of the main reasons is the existing stream to the west of HWY 9. The existing ROW (right of way) on the east side of HWY 9 is adequate for their plans most of the way up to our property. However, they will have to purchase additional ROW from the landscapers, and the property just to the south.
2. The final plan remains unknown pending the following: The WSDOT plans to move the highway on the east side of Hwy 9 toward 205th.. The edge of the ditch line will move by about 30 feet at the southeast corner of the 205th property line, and the ROW clearance will take about 40 feet of land east of and parallel to the current ditch line, and terminate very close to the edge of the retention pond. This will necessitate moving the Snohomish County PUD transmission line (T-line), just like in Phase 2. I spoke with the WSDOT project engineer about this, and they have requested the SPUD provide a preliminary design for the T-Line location. The WSDOT will allow the SPUD to use the WSDOT ROW, but only if there is enough clearance. The way this looks to me, the SPUD will need to request at least some additional easement from the HOA at the SE most point near 205th, and we may end up with the T-line right on the western edge of the retention pond, or slightly over it. Given that is property is designated NPGA (Native Protected Growth Act), interface with the county will also be required, and the SPUD may be required to mitigate any destruction of this area.
3. Projected construction start date remains at Spring 2011.
4. They also think that more lanes will help split the traffic out more and make a left turn directly onto HWY 9 easier from 201st. There will not be a stop light installed at 201st. They say it would be too disruptive for the traffic on HWY 9. There will be some allowable U-Turns north of 201st to provide a alternative for accessing the southbound lanes of Hwy 9.
5. Traffic from Horse Country to Hwy 9 (just north of 201st) will only be able to go north. It can be assumed that more Horse Country folks will come south into Highland Vista and use 201st to go south on Hwy 9.
6. Bringing up the subject of a possible sound wall between HWY 9 and our pond was like throwing a stone into a pool of mud. Yes, a study could be undertaken, if the DOT thought that there was justification for it. But beyond that it was unclear how the DOT would handle a study if financed by Montare.
7. I asked (in writing) that we be sent existing drawings of the proposed expansion, especially to the west of our property, and that we be included in any future discussion of sound walls, etc.
They plan to have an additional, similar meeting in the future.
Bill, Tom and Mike
Posted in Local News
