Work on significant improvements to Highway 99 in Edmonds could commence by 2029, according to statements made by a city transportation official during a Monday evening forum. These enhancements aim to transform a high-traffic route by installing broader sidewalks, dedicated cycling paths, enhanced lighting, safer pedestrian crossings, accessible curb ramps, and better stormwater systems.
Bertrand Hauss, the Edmonds transportation engineer, addressed a gathering of the Edmonds Civic Roundtable, a nonprofit organization, to detail the long-term plans for the corridor. He noted that preliminary efforts to improve safety for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians on a 2.5-mile stretch between 244th Street and 210th Street started in 2017. The total estimated cost for these upgrades is approximately $173 million.
To manage the substantial financial burden, municipal planners divided the project into seven distinct sections, each ranging from a quarter to a half mile in length. This segmentation allows for phased funding and cost distribution. Prior to initiating these specific segments, the city implemented a central median along most of the corridor, replacing former left-turn lanes, and reduced the speed limit from 45 to 40 miles per hour. Hauss explained that the median was prioritized to address the most urgent safety concerns, as the corridor suffers from frequent conflicts involving left turns and vehicles exiting driveways.
Current design work has reached the 30% mark for two of these segments. The initial construction phase will cover a 2,500-foot stretch between 244th Street Southwest and 238th Street Southwest. This section will feature the planned safety upgrades, including bike lanes and crosswalks, alongside new left-turn lanes on 238th Street to alleviate traffic congestion. Additionally, the project involves burying overhead utility lines and planting tree buffers to separate the roadway from pedestrian and cycling paths.
Funding for this first segment is estimated at $30 million, primarily sourced from state allocations, with supplementary support from a federal grant. Construction is slated to begin in 2029 and conclude in 2030.
A second phase, covering the area from 224th Street Southwest to a point roughly 1,000 feet north of 220th Street Southwest, is projected to begin in 2030 and finish in 2031. The estimated cost for this portion is $49 million, though the city is still seeking additional funding sources to finalize the budget.
Efforts to enhance safety along this busy corridor are not limited to Edmonds. Various agencies across Snohomish County are evaluating potential improvements. The Washington State Department of Transportation recently completed a study lasting more than two years on a 6.6-mile section of Highway 99 spanning Lynnwood and unincorporated county areas. Proposed upgrades for that section, which may include medians, bike and bus lanes, and sidewalks, could exceed $600 million.
In neighboring Everett, a city traffic engineer reported in a June committee meeting that the municipality has secured grant funding to initiate planning and early design work for safety enhancements along Evergreen Way.
Work along the 2.5-mile stretch of Highway 99 in Edmonds is expected to extend over several years before all planned improvements are finished, according to Hauss, though a definitive schedule remains uncertain due to ongoing dependencies on securing financial resources.