After more than 10 years since its the project began, the City of Lynnwood held a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the completion of the 36th Avenue West improvements project.

Expanding from Maple Road and 179th Street Southwest to 165th Place Southwest, the project includes a wider roadway, improved sidewalks, added landscaping and bike lanes. The most notable features are a new traffic signal at the 36th Avenue/Maple Road/179th Street Southwest intersection and a roundabout at the 36th Avenue West/179th Street Southwest intersection.

“The roundabout is going to let a lot more cars through and it’s a lot safer,” said City Engineer David Mach.

The project cost $17 million, with the city receiving $4.65 million in federal grant funding to perform the design and right-of-way acquisition and a $4 million state grant from the Transportation Improvement Board to complete construction. The city has also committed over $6.6 million in local funds.

The project included much-needed repairs to the roadway, which had potholes, uneven surfaces, patched and broken pavement, and unsafe nearby walking conditions.

“36th Avenue has been a plight on our city transportation system for decades,” said Lynnwood City Council President Christine Frizzell. “This new road will smoothly carry over 10,000 vehicles per day, providing walkable sidewalks and be an essential route to moving traffic more efficiently as we move into light rail.”

Improvements to the high-traffic road will reduce congestion leading to and from Alderwood Mall, Costco and the more than 200 single-family homes nearby, said Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith.

“Thank you to our community for being so patient, and I know we’re all going to be able to appreciate this new, smooth road that will access us to the places that we love to go,” she said.

The ceremony was posted to the city’s YouTube channel and can be viewed here.

–By Cody Sexton