State Route 531 (SR 531) is a short
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
in
Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
, United States. It runs from west to east along 172nd Street between
Wenberg County Park on
Lake Goodwin to a junction with
SR 9 in southern
Arlington, with an intermediate interchange with
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
(I-5) in
Smokey Point. The highway is the primary access point for the
Arlington Municipal Airport and the Smokey Point retail corridor.
SR 531 was created by the
state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
in 1991, using existing roads that were built in the early 20th century. Retail and housing development in the Smokey Point area triggered several expansion projects in the 1990s and 2000s to accommodate growing traffic volumes. The I-5 interchange was rebuilt and expanded between 2004 and 2010, including the addition of a
loop ramp and a wider overpass. Its eastern terminus at SR 9 was converted into a
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
in 2012.
Route description
![WA-531 at 27th Avenue, 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/WA-531_at_27th_Avenue%2C_2013.jpg)
SR 531 begins at the entrance to
Wenberg County Park, a former
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
located on
Lake Goodwin. The highway travels north on a section of East Lake Goodwin Road, which continues around the south and west sides of the lake. At the north end of the lake, SR 531 turns east onto Lakewood Road, a rural two-lane highway that passes several suburban
subdivision
Subdivision may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Subdivision (metre), in music
* ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009
* "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2)
* ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005
* "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...
s. The highway wraps around the north end of
Lake Ki and Cougar Creek and turns due east onto 172nd Street Northeast at an intersection with Forty Five Road. It continues across the rural community of
North Lakewood, passing the
Lakewood High School campus.
The highway travels east over a set of
railroad track
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
s into the city of
Marysville, where it expands into a multi-lane road with sidewalks,
bus pullouts, landscaping, a
roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
, and marked
bicycle lane
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor v ...
s. SR 531 passes several
big-box retailer
A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...
s and apartment complexes before reaching a
partial cloverleaf interchange
A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange.
The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with
I-5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
, which marks the boundary between Marysville and
Arlington.
The overpass carrying SR 531 over I-5 is named the Oliver "Punks" Smith Bridge after a retired Arlington
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
member who led calls for its reconstruction. The highway continues east into Arlington's
Smokey Point neighborhood, passing several
strip mall
A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
s, a
bus station
A bus station or a bus interchange is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. While the term bus depot can also be used to refer to a bus station, it generally refers to a bus garage. A bus station is l ...
, and government offices.
East of Smokey Point, SR 531 returns to its two-lane configuration as it passes several farms, light industrial buildings, and the
Arlington Municipal Airport.
The airport's main runway lies directly north of the highway, with low-flying planes making their
final approach
In aeronautics, the final approach (also called the final leg and final approach leg) is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing, when the aircraft is lined up with the runway and descending for landing.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of ...
over SR 531, and the complex is ringed by a gravel
multiuse trail
A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...
.
The highway crosses another set of railroad tracks and the
Centennial Trail A Centennial Trail is either a trail created to celebrate a centennial, or the memorialization of a path or trail that has endured for a century. These can be, but are not necessarily, rail trails.
Centennial Trails in the United States
* Centen ...
at 67th Avenue, which continues into downtown Arlington. From the crossing, SR 531 begins its ascent up a hill, curving to the north along the edge of the Gleneagle housing development and
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
. The highway terminates at a roundabout with
SR 9 near a
gun range
A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military ...
south of downtown Arlington.
SR 531 is maintained by the
Washington State Department of Transportation
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...
(WSDOT), which conducts an annual survey on the state's highways to measure traffic volume in terms of
average annual daily traffic
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a y ...
. In 2016, WSDOT calculated that the busiest section of the highway is located in Smokey Point and carried an average of 24,000 vehicles per day. The least traveled section was near Wenberg County Park and carried only 1,900 vehicles. A short section of SR 531 between I-5 and Smokey Point Boulevard is designated as a minor route of the
National Highway System.
History
Lakewood and its adjoining community of English were established in 1908 along an unpaved road to Arlington, which later became part of SR 531. The road once extended east from Portage Creek to the banks of the
South Fork Stillaguamish River, but this section was removed from maps by 1940. As retailers moved into the Smokey Point area, sections of the road were widened and improved in the 1980s with contributions from private developers.
SR 531 was designated as a state highway during the 1991
legislative session
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...
, but it was not transferred to state control until April 1992. WSDOT identified the highway's two-lane overpass over I-5 as a candidate for replacement using state funding, but the project was pushed back several times in the 1990s. After it was removed from the preliminary list of projects under the
Nickel Program in January 2003, a citizens group was formed to lobby elected officials for the interchange replacement. By the end of the year, the group had successfully negotiated for $6.5 million in funds (equivalent to $ in dollars) to replace the overpass and plan for a future interchange replacement, sourced from various state and local jurisdictions. The project's budget was later increased to $9.2 million (equivalent to $ in dollars) using federal funds obtained by the state's congressional delegation.
Construction of the new I-5 overpass began in August 2004 and was completed in December 2005, expanding the highway to six lanes and adding bicycle lanes and sidewalks. The old overpass, which had been built in 1968, was demolished in May 2005 after the completion of the new bridge's northern side. The new bridge opened in time to serve a new
shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
on the southwest side of the interchange, which contributed to an increase in traffic and collisions.
The second phase of the project, a
loop ramp channeling westbound traffic onto southbound I-5, began construction in March 2009 and was opened on August 28, 2009, six months ahead of schedule. The rest of the interchange project, including
ramp meter
A ramp meter, ramp signal, or metering light is a device, usually a basic traffic light or a two-section signal light (red and green only, no yellow) together with a signal controller, that regulates the flow of traffic entering freeways accordi ...
s and improved intersections, was completed in July 2010. The project's total budget was $33 million (equivalent to $ in dollars), but only cost $23.5 million to construct (equivalent to $ in dollars) due to cost savings in engineering and project bidding.
The Nickel Program also funded several other projects on the SR 531 that were completed in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In 2007, a set of sidewalks were added to the highway near Lakewood High School and its adjacent
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
in Lakewood. A roundabout at SR 9 was opened to traffic in November 2012, replacing a signalized intersection that had been the site of frequent collisions. A second roundabout was added at 23rd Avenue west of the I-5 interchange, using funds from a private developer to support their new shopping center and apartment complex.
In the late 2000s, WSDOT also studied $57 million in traffic and safety improvements for the SR 531 corridor near the
Arlington Municipal Airport, recommending that the highway be widened to four lanes and include bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and roundabouts at several intersections. Funding for the project was part of the
Roads and Transit
Roads and Transit was a ballot measure in the U.S. State of Washington concerning transportation, that was sent to voters in the Snohomish, King, and Pierce Counties for approval on November 6, 2007. It was defeated by a margin of 56% to 44%.
I ...
ballot measure in 2007, but the program was rejected by voters.
In 2015, the state legislature allocated $39.3 million from the statewide transportation package to fund a widening project that is scheduled to be completed by 2026.
Due to the anticipated increase in traffic caused by new industrial development in the area, a set of parallel reliever roads are also planned to be constructed in Smokey Point. A roundabout at 43rd Avenue Northeast and hard median in Smokey Point were completed by October 2022.
Major intersections
References
External links
*
{{Good article
531
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Year 531 (Roman numerals, DXXXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Rufius Gennadius Probus ...
Transportation in Snohomish County, Washington