Work on State Route 522 through Bothell continues its third phase, building on previous improvement projects to enhance the road and provide access for business and transit.
The project, known as SR 522 Stage 3, will provide road improvements and business access and bus-rapid transit (BRT) lanes to 83rd Place Northeast, which is the city’s western limits. It is part of the Sound Transit SR 522 and NE 145th project to facilitate BRT and will widen existing lanes. It will also create business access and transit lanes in both directions.
On top of this, the project will add sidewalk on the north side of the road, install center medians and street lights and place utilities underground. A press release from the city of Bothell said the BRT lanes will improve reliability and speed of transit, and dovetails with the city’s plan for its downtown revitalization program. The city is trying to create a “transit-friendly urban core.”
Funding for the project was approved by the passage of Sound Transit 3 in 2016. In total, the three phases of the project were expected to cost between $365 million to $389 million and have a daily ridership of up to 10,000 by 2040. The total project will include roughly eight miles of BRT lanes with nine pairs of stations and an expanded transit center at the University of Washington Bothell.
The city selected Thormco Construction, Inc. to undertake the project on March 19. Traffic has at times been reduced to a single lane in either direction during intense periods of paving. More information is available online at the city of Bothell’s project website.
