Snohomish County's population increased 143% between 1980 and 2019, making SR 522 a critical east-west route that connects communities between Woodinville and Monroe. One section, between Paradise Lake Road in Maltby and the Snohomish River, remains one-lane in each direction.
2017 - 2019
SR 522 from Paradise Lake Road and the Snohomish River
To address concerns, we plan to widen the highway to create two lanes in each direction to improve traffic flow and increase trip reliability on the roadway. This includes building a new eastbound bridge at the Fales Road/Echo Lake Road interchange and converting the existing bridge to westbound traffic only.
SR 522/Paradise Lake Road Intersection
Drivers also regularly experience heavy congestion at the SR 522/Paradise Lake Road intersection. The congestion frequently spills over onto side streets as drivers try to find ways around the bottlenecks on the highway.
In 2019, WSDOT using feedback from the Technical Activity Committee (TAC) and the community selected a selected a preliminary preferred alternative for Paradise Lake Road. More information on the TAC and community engagement is below. The key characteristics of the selected concept include:
Benefits of the preliminary preferred alternative include:
Technical advisory committee
A technical advisory committee (TAC) consisting of representatives from area cities and agencies provided feedback and made recommendations on an interchange design for the Paradise Lake Road intersection. Over three meetings in 2018, TAC members worked with WSDOT to identify the preliminary preferred alternative using criteria such as safety, local street operations, SR 522 operations, and forward compatibility. The TAC reviewed forecasted traffic analysis maps, area development plans, community benefits and effects, and project costs.
Community engagement
WSDOT hosted two open houses in 2018. The first open house in October 2018 provided more than 200 attendees an opportunity to review several interchange options that were being studied and provide feedback.
The second open house in December 2018 attracted more than 150 people who reviewed the preliminary preferred alternative and spoke with members of the project team about the concept.
2019 – 2022
The project was paused due to the unknown impact of COVID-19 restrictions.
2022 - present
In 2022 the project was restarted. Over the last two and a half years, the project team has been working to analyze the characteristics of the preferred alternative, which includes:
Technical advisory committee
The technical advisory committee (TAC) will be relaunched with an expanded list of participants. The TAC will provide technical assistance for the complete streets alternatives development and evaluation.
Community engagement
Feedback from the community is a crucial part of the Complete Streets pre-design process as it ensures that the recommendation developed reflects the community’s vision for active transportation.
This project has received $33.55 million in funding from pre-existing funds, and the Connecting Washington and Move Ahead Washington transportation packages for design and right-of-way acquisition. The project is not currently funded for construction.
This map shows the proposed interchange improvements for SR 522 at Paradise Lake Road and SR 524.
