🚨🚧 Frontier Village Intersection Work This Week 🚧🚨

The work will take place from 9 pm to 5 am. Monday through Thursday and is anticipated to last until May.

Crews from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will install new drainage and electrical systems on State Route 9 between Fourth St. NE and Vernon Road beginning Monday, January 30.

The work will take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday and is anticipated to last until May.

The intersection at State Route 9 and State Route 204 will be controlled by flaggers and police officers. Please proceed with caution.

Project overview

The intersection of SR 9 and SR 204 in Lake Stevens will be improved by adding four roundabouts and widening SR 9 to two lanes in each direction immediately south of the intersection.

These improvements will help manage congestion and improve mobility, provide

better access to area businesses and provide more travel options with improved connections for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and drivers.

Work on the project’s third roundabout on State Route 9, which will connect to Vernon Road and North Davies Road, will begin sometime in March (weather permitting). 

What to expect

The third stage of this project is now underway. Over the next year, contractor crews working for WSDOT will finish new roundabouts at and around where SR 9 and SR 204 meet.

There will be three (3) extended weekend closures which would begin on a Thursday evening and continue through the following Tuesday morning. The exact dates and times of those closures will be announced as they are scheduled but the tentative timelines for each closure are:

Spring 2023 (estimated): Crews will build a roundabout on SR 9 to connect it to Vernon Road and North Davies Road.

Spring/Summer 2023 (estimated): Crews will build a roundabout at the intersection of SR 9 and SR 204 that will connect to Seventh Place Northeast.

A fourth roundabout will be built on 91st Avenue Northeast and Vernon Road but will not require an extended weekend closure. Travelers will use signed detours which will be announced closer to the time of each extended weekend closure.

These timelines are subject to change and those changes will be communicated on this webpage. The project is expected to be complete by fall 2023.

Background

Timeline: July 2016 - December 2023

Project status: Construction

Funding: $69 Million

The SR 9/204 intersection in Lake Stevens experiences heavy congestion weekdays and weekends, which affects Snohomish County travelers as well as regional and freight traffic. Highway users also experience backups and delays while trying to access the many businesses that surround this busy intersection. 

Community engagement

In 2016, WSDOT formed a stakeholder advisory group to advise on developing and evaluating improvement options. The group consisted of elected leaders and representatives from the city of Lake Stevens, Snohomish County, area businesses and transit providers.

The group members reviewed multiple design options which were presented to the public at open houses in 2017. After hearing the public feedback, the group agreed on a preliminary preferred alternative to improve the intersection.

However, during design, the project team discovered the groundwater level just nine feet below the surface. This meant the cost, materials and overall feasibility of the preferred alternative needed further review. 

Re-evaluating the design in 2018 allowed for further innovation and cost savings while staying true to the project's purpose, need and traffic performance. The team reviewed a widening option and a roundabout option. 

The revised roundabout option provided better overall benefits than widening or the original alternative which called for rebuilding SR 9 to travel underneath SR 204. 

The current phased construction work is the product of a rigorous community engagement effort.

WSDOT generated multiple opportunities for area stakeholders, highway users, area businesses and people who live in Lake Stevens to review improvement options and business access.

• 11 stakeholder advisory group meetings from 2016 to 2019

• Six open houses for the public between 2016 and 2022

• Four business forums from 2016 to 2021

• Online and in-person community open houses 2022

Learn more about the SR9/SR204 project at https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/sr-9-sr-204-intersection-improvements

Learn more about the SR9/South Lake Stevens Road project at https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/sr-9-south-lake-stevens-road-intersection-improvements