Roundabout Project Enters Final Stages, Multiple Lane Closures Begin May 8

You think roundabouts are bad? The original plan called for an overpass! J425 reviews a project 15 years in the making as WSDOT installs four roundabouts at Lake Stevens' SR-204 and SR-9 intersection.

Multiple Lane Closures Go Into Effect Today

Expect complicated travel in the Frontier Village area as roundabout construction — and associated lane closures — ramp up (pun intended).

Drivers can expect multiple closures beginning today as WSDOT enters the final stages of its roundabout-centric improvement project focused on the intersection of SR-9 and SR-204.

J425 has the details on today’s closures and the rest of the construction timeline. WSDOT maintains that the entire project will be completed this year.

Here’s the situation starting today:

• SR-9 closes to a single lane nightly today through May 13.

• Vernon Road exit off SR-9 closes today for an estimated six weeks.

• WSDOT announces Longterm closure of the “the southbound lane of Vernon Road south of North Davies Road.”

Day-and-Night Construction for the Next Week

WSDOT graphic detailing today’s closure.

“WSDOT is closing southbound Vernon Road at North Davies Road for six weeks starting on Monday, May 8.

This work is necessary to prepare for the large roundabout being built this summer to connect Vernon Road and North Davies Road to SR 9,” stated a WSDOT spokesperson via release.

WSDOT also says drivers can expect nightly lane closures throughout the SR-9 and SR-204 interchange area, with flaggers alternating traffic along frontage roads.

The state transpo agency also announced the “long-term closures of the SR-9 ramp to Vernon Road, the southbound/westbound shoulder near the SR 9/SR 204 intersection and the southbound lane of Vernon Road south of North Davies Road.”

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A Project 15 Years in the Making

Today’s closures mark the final stage of physical improvements that began in 2016 — as the result of a $69 million plan approved over a decade and a half ago… a plan that went through at least three major alterations AFTER achieving funding. The initial battle — for sparse state dollars — began in 2007.

Upon election to the State Senate in 2007, then-Senator Steve Hobbs conducted a series of “Lake Stevens Leaders” meetings with the elected and appointed officials from the City, County and school district.

Hobbs told the attendees that he figured he had one or two major asks that he’d be able to pull off for the community, and he wanted the area’s leaders to put skin in the game by polling themselves and agreeing on a set of priorities or “asks” that Hobbs could work towards.

The net result of the leaders meetings was agreement that the intersection at SR-204 and SR-9 was the most pressing issue facing the community.

Hobbs agreed to petition the state for funds, and within a few years, the project was funded.

Round and Round We Go

WSDOT engineers went through a public process after obtaining funding, conducting a series of community outreach events and stakeholder conferences.

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 — selected by WSDOT — reviewed multiple design options which were then presented to the public at open houses in 2017. (Take note of the work flow…)

After hearing public feedback, the group agreed on a preliminary preferred alternative to improve the intersection: widening the existing roadways.

However like the initial plan before it — which called for 204 to bypass SR-9 via overpass (!), this plan was not to be.

Groundwater Discovery Dampens Enthusiasm

However, during design, the WSDOT engineers came back with a new set of plans after discovering groundwater just nine feet below the surface — a finding that shouldn’t have been much of a shock given the unbuildable wetlands at the southwest corner of the SR-9 and SR-204 intersection.

However, this meant the cost, materials and overall feasibility of the preferred alternative required further review.  

WSDOT says this development was actually a good thing, as it allowed for “further innovation and cost savings” while providing an opportunity to “stay true to the project's purpose, need and traffic performance.” (Who writes this stuff?)

The team reviewed a widening option and a roundabout option before ultimately settling on the … well, you guessed it.

The state claimed that the revised roundabout option provided better overall benefits than widening or the original plan, which actually called for rebuilding SR 9 to travel underneath SR 204. 

And to be fair, you have to give it to them: and underpass overpass system at Frontier Village would’ve been an eyesore and a nightmare to traverse.

Several iterations later, the final version was unveiled, utilizing a series of four major roundabouts replacing existing traffic signals and addressing the non-functioning ingress/egress problem at Frontier Village.

State traffic engineers write that these improvements “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.”

Remaining Schedule TBA

Earlier this year, WSDOT announced the schedule for the final stage of improvements, stating that 2023 would feature two full closures of the of SR-9 and SR-204 intersection, with each closure lasting about a week, inclusive of “an extended weekend period” — whatever that means.

The state explained that each closure would basically allow crews to build one large multi-lane roundabout.

Business access will be maintained during the closures. The tentative timelines for each closure were announced as follows: 

• Spring 2023 (May 8): Crews will build a roundabout on SR-9, creating a new connection to Vernon Road and North Davies Road.

• Spring/summer 2023: Crews will build a roundabout at the intersection of SR-9 and SR-204 that will connect to Seventh Place Northeast. 

So in summary, with lane closures in place today, Lake Stevens has effectively entered the first of two final construction periods, after which the overhaul of the Frontier Village intersection area will be complete.

J425 will keep you posted on any updates to the construction schedule and we’ll let you know when the second and final stage of improvements is announced.

If you’d like to check out the details yourself, the state maintains a project site which you can access here, and J425’s previous reporting on the topic is provided below.

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