Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01) announced the start of an infrastructure tour of the First Congressional District to get a firsthand look at local projects that could help drive economic growth and support good-paying jobs in the region.

She plans to visit project sites across the district over the next year. The first three stops of DelBene’s tour occurred on March 20 in Snohomish and King counties.

“There are many roads, rails, bridges and tunnels across Washington state that are in need of improvements. Making these critical investments will not only improve our infrastructure, it will bolster our economy by adding good-paying jobs for middle class families. I look forward to hearing from people on the ground and taking their message back to Washington, D.C., where I will keep fighting for more infrastructure dollars for our region,” stated DelBene, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

DelBene first toured the I-405/SR-522/527 improvement project in Bothell that would widen I-405 through the SR-522 interchange and build direct access ramps to the express toll lanes to help ease congestion.

Later, she visited they Hwy 2 trestle in Everett, which is in need of maintenance to ease the heavy traffic and the high volume of accidents, and the Totem Lake Connector Bridge project site in Kirkland. Upon completion, the latter will be a bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting two ends of the Cross Kirkland Corridor that is currently divided by a complicated intersection.

“These projects are important to our region and the economy in our region and making sure that we have traffic flow and transit opportunities is key,” DelBene, who is vice chair of the New Democrat Coalition, told the Reporter. “For folks in our growing communities, up here in Bothell or even heading out toward Monroe, if we have transit there, it will help our overall traffic.”

Bothell Deputy Mayor Davina Duerr was at the tour’s first stop, and said getting traffic flowing on I-405 will help Bus Rapid Transit be successful when it opens in 2024.

Kim Henry, WSDOT program director for the I-405/SR 167 corridor program, said they’re hoping to have the project done by then, but it’s a matter of funding.

Renderings for the 405-522/527 improvement project show how traffic can be improved and better integrated with transit. Katie Metzger/staff photo

The single-lane section of the I-405 express toll lanes between SR 522 and I-5 continues to experience congestion, particularly southbound in the morning commute. This is the view south from the bridge over the I-405/527 interchange in the early afternoon. Katie Metzger/staff photo