The 522 Mess: Poor Bothell

Red and orange, those two colors blind 522 and downtown Bothell. The streets paved with orange cones, the sidewalks marked with orange detour signs, construction workers sporting orange vests directing traffic, and worst of all the red from the brake lights. What use to be a simple commute downtown has turned into tedious aggravation, testing the limit of patience a person can have. For nearly a month the Bothell Crossroads SR 522 Realignment has been underway and the detour routes are scheduled through mid October.

As of now only eastbound travel on Local Access Rd (formerly SR 522) is allowed and at the same time no westbound traffic is allowed through Bothell Way and Main St.  The crisscrossing traffic confusion has us all rubbing our heads determining when things will clear up and be stress free again. Believe it or not this is only phase II and phase III is just around the corner.

With gradual construction throughout the year, the mess on SR 522 and downtown Bothell is not projected to be finished until June 2014. Sadly it does not look like we have seen the worst of it. Phase II seems like just the beginning of an even bigger mess. Soon there will be transit relocations, sidewalk closures and of course more red and orange.

What matters most is when the construction comes to an end, hopefully by the projection date, this time next summer the roads will be more open, sidewalks safer, easier access to public transformation, and more room for downtown Bothell to grow. But, the very best part about construction is that it is temporary. Even though the congestion can get to your nerves, when you are sitting in your car watching the red lights in front of you, just think that this is for the better of the community.

For information on more projects around Bothell check out the City of Bothell’s Capital Improvements page.