Thanks to the taxpayers of Washington state for the new SR532

As the new bridge to Camano Island approaches completion, and the striping is being applied to the upgraded intersections, it’s already difficult to remember what SR 532 was like more than a year ago.

Turn lanes at critical intersections and slow vehicle turnout lanes between I-5 and Camano Island help the traffic flow and increase safety.

As I drive over the hill from Arlington to Stanwood every day, it’s been interesting watching the process. One section at a time, the road has been widened and now the shiny black new pavement is beginning to cover the patchy surfaces. The big orange cones migrate from one work area to the next. The intersection at 72nd Avenue now looks beautiful. The retaining wall at the top of the hill is still plugging along, as is the bridge construction. As a passerby, it’s difficult to see exactly what is being done, but one day soon, the cones will move and another new lane will open. Soon, metal sculptures by Camano artist Debi Rhodes will appear, thanks to the contractors, and we’ll be driving across the new bridge.

Before long, the project will be all done, the new black roads will be gray with plentiful traffic, and the contractor’s crew will leave town for another project somewhere else, hopefully.

Stanwood and Camano residents are lucky to be beneficiaries of the Nickle Tax passed in 2005 to help pay for the $82.2 million project, with the help of state Senator Mary Margaret Haugen. Stanwood residents in the Warm Beach and Lake Goodwin area also benefited by improvements on the Lakewood Road

It was a long wait, but it’s finally almost done.

Now, if drivers just watch for other cars, maybe the number of collisions in the police reports will diminish.

As a resident of Arlington, I wonder, when will another transportation bill be passed to pay for a similar project on SR 531, through Smokey Point in Arlington.

I do have a question, however, on the slow vehicle turn out lane. As I leave town toward home each afternoon, driving the speed limit up the hill toward I-5, am I supposed to move over into the extra lane to enable speeders to pass me, or should they be passing me on the right?

– Sarah Arney Acting Managing Editor