Local

Marysville train crossing problems to get relief

When a train rolls through Marysville, crossing vehicle traffic can only sit and wait it out.

"It backs up halfway through town and it takes 10 minutes or better for it to clear out," said driver Eugene Floyd as he waited for a train. "You got to allow extra for the train, always, in case you get caught."

Seventeen city streets cross railroad tracks, and there's no grade-separated crossings in Marysville.

On Wednesday, city officials told the state transportation commission as many as 18 passing trains bring crossing gates down for 70 minutes each day.

They predict up to 43 daily trains by 2035, bringing the gates down for 145 minutes.

But Mayor Jon Nehring says relief is on the way.

Nehring said construction is set to begin in 2019 on a new interchange at I-5 and State Route 529 on the city's south end.

"People who work at Boeing or wherever will be able to get home quicker and avoid the trains on that end of town," Nehring said.

The work is funded by the Legislature's "Connecting Washington" transportation package, which raised gas taxes 12 cents a gallon.

Getting to that future exit will be easier in the afternoons, because Connecting Washington also funds a shoulder lane during peak hours between Everett and Marysville, in effect adding an extra lane to northbound I-5.

The state is also funding upgrades to the 88th Street Northeast interchange, and a new interchange at 156th Street Northeast.

Top stories on KIRO7.com