Work continues on First Street Bypass

The First Street Bypass project is more than halfway finished and is on schedule to be complete toward the end of summer.

The new roadway will provide a new arterial that connects State Avenue with the Sunnyside area.

“Currently, we are nearing 60 percent completion of the project with the work on the First Street Bypass,” said Steve Miller, project manager for the city of Marysville.

A good percentage of the paving work has been done, he said.

“We have paved the entire south portion of the new roadway,” said Miller, and now work will flip to the other portion of the roadway, which includes removing the current pavement and completing utility work.

“We are on schedule and plan to be substantially completed by the end of summer, sometime in September,” said Miller.

That is the time the new roadway is scheduled to open as well, he said.

Marysville officials have long planned for a First Street Bypass road project and began last year.

“The First Street Bypass will be another link in the city’s transportation system,” said Miller.

Providing another east-to-west route is meant to relieve congestion at the intersection of Fourth Street and State Avenue.

“And it will provide another route to get onto I-5 once the Department of Transportation has finished the HOV lanes and the interchange that are scheduled to be at SR-529,” said Miller.

A interchange between I-5 and SR-529 is scheduled to come to the downtown in the next couple of years, which was part of a transportation package passed by the state legislature.

The First Street Bypass was started partially in response to more anticipated traffic in the downtown area.

The road will be five lanes between State Avenue and Alder Avenue, until going down to two lanes.

Bike lanes are a planned part of the construction as well.

There will be continued traffic impacts and First Street between Alder Avenue and Columbia Avenue will remain closed, for both safety purposes and to help the construction crew complete their work quicker, said Miller.

“Traffic impacts will include intermittent lane closures,” he said.

The city of Marysville purchased many of the homes along First Street to begin the project. Just one of those houses was acquired through eminent domain.

The project is being funded with city funds and is estimated to cost about $12 million.

“We are seeing good progress with our contractors,” said Miller.

“We are experiencing a good partnership with them,” he added.