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Rep. Mike Sells, serving the 38th District Serving Snohomish County including Everett, Marysville, and Tulalip. |
House passes law to improve safety on Highway 2
Dunshee, Sells say legislation will save lives
February 24, 2009
OLYMPIA -- The most dangerous highway in the state is on the path to
becoming safer on Monday.
"The law we passed is aimed at fixing
the part we use the most -- the trestle, where Highway 2 hooks up to I-5
and the interchanges," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, a cosponsor
of the bill.
On Monday,
House Bill 1575 passed the House by a vote of 92-0. It now heads for
the Senate for consideration.
"In past years, we tackled the
outer reaches of Highway 2," Dunshee said, "the blind curves and
stretches where it narrows down to two lanes, places where we saw a lot
of head-on collisions. This new law is about finding solutions for the
last piece, which is a different animal. There are separated lanes. It's
an entirely different problem."
The author of the law, Rep. Mike
Sells, D-Everett, said “This development plan would begin to address
both traffic and safety issues from Snohomish to the Everett Naval
Station. The hollow core pilings on the west bound trestle are in need
of replacement. We don’t want another viaduct problem, and the way to
avoid that is through careful planning of this corridor.”
Traffic
safety statistics show that three times as many people are maimed or
killed in car accidents than at the hands of criminals. Dunshee said
that in spite of the numbers, more time and money goes toward crime.
"Highway 2 is a safety problem partly because of bad design,"
Dunshee said. "This law will put that design under the microscope and
figure out solutions that will save lives."