The last businesses were vacated at the end of 2009. The resulting strip of abandoned buildings along the south side of State Route 522 from roughly 102nd Avenue Northeast to Northeast 180th Street has the appearance of an at least mildly eerie ghost town.
Soon, even the empty buildings will be gone.
At its Feb. 23 meeting, Bothell City Council approved a $332,650 contract for demolition of the structures now in the path of Bothell’s long-standing scheme to realign SR 522 by moving it roughly one block south.
“It certainly has been a long time in the discussion and planning phase,” commented Mayor Mark Lamb. “I think it’s a phenomenal project and I’m excited it’s finally moving forward.”
According to Deputy City Manager Steve Anderson, the winning bidder for the demolition contract, Titan Earthworks, will begin setting up construction site fencing at the end of this month. Buildings should start to tumble in early April and the work should be completed by mid-June.
Anderson said the demolition will not consist entirely or simply of a bulldozer blasting its way through the former commercial strip. He promised the work will include as much as salvaging and recycling of materials as possible.
Once the demolition work concludes, Anderson said the city intends to quickly let bids on the realignment of SR 522 itself — work long dubbed the Crossroads project. The realignment contract will include any underground or environmental clean-up work needed in the demolition area.
Anderson said he expects work on the SR 522 relocation to begin in the early fourth quarter of this year. The city has completion tentatively arriving in 2012. Cost has been estimated at roughly $62 million. Anderson said the project is fully funded with state, federal and local dollars all in the mix.
In total, some 27 Bothell businesses were directly affected by the Crossroads project and have vacated SR 522. Some have relocated locally. Bothell Ski and Bike moved, for example, further down SR 522 to a spot in Kenmore. Other relocations involved a greater distance, such as the move of McVay’s Mobile Welding to Marysville.
Anderson said all that empty space largely has been left alone by would-be vandals or thieves, with what he described as only a few “minor” incidents taking place.
“It’s been pretty quiet, thankfully,” he added. Anderson said one homeless man had moved into the area, but has been relocated.
According to information provided by the city, the revamped SR 522 will consist of two lanes of traffic in each direction, along with left-turn lanes. Tree-lined median strips will separate traffic from new sidewalks. Cross streets such as 180th Street and 98th Avenue will be extended to reach the new stretch of SR 522.
In the past, Bothell planners and officials have said the point of the Crossroads project is to eliminate what some see as the awkward intersection of SR 522, State Route 527 and Main Street. According to Bothell’s Web site, the intersection sees about 44,000 cars per day and that number is expected to increase.
Described as “T-shaped,” officials have contended the revamped intersection will ease traffic flow and is a big part of Bothell’s plan to reshape its downtown. The Crossroads project is seen as the first step at transforming SR 527 north of its intersection with Main and SR 522 into a multi-lane boulevard. Officials hope for up to $670 million in private, mixed-use development eventually to spring up along that boulevard.
