Tygart Media

Tag: Public Works

  • Everett’s $113 Million Pipeline Project: A 2026 Operational Guide for Waterfront Businesses and Developers

    Everett’s $113 Million Pipeline Project: A 2026 Operational Guide for Waterfront Businesses and Developers

    How will the $113 million West Marine View pipeline project affect waterfront businesses? Two business-relevant headlines: (1) sustained corridor disruption from approximately June 2026 through the end of 2027 along the only direct route between the north end and the downtown waterfront, marina, and Port; and (2) longer-term water-quality improvement of Port Gardner Bay — engineers project a 95% reduction in combined sewer overflows — that meaningfully strengthens the waterfront’s commercial value over the next decade.

    This is the business and developer read of the $113 million pipeline core guide. The core walks through the engineering and the funding mechanism. This one walks through the operational impact for waterfront restaurants, marina-adjacent businesses, hotel and tourism operators, and developers with active or planned projects in the corridor.

    Map your exposure to the corridor

    Three operational variables to model right now:

    1. Customer access. If your customers reach you via West Marine View Drive between Grand Avenue Bridge and Hewitt Avenue, plan for sustained lane impacts during pipe-trench excavation phases. Phased lane closures with traffic-control management are the standard pattern for projects of this scope; full corridor closure is unlikely but not impossible during specific phases.
    2. Delivery and supplier access. Suppliers accessing waterfront tenants need realistic delivery-window assumptions. Construction corridors compress the time bands when heavy delivery vehicles can move efficiently. Renegotiating delivery windows with suppliers in advance is cheaper than fixing missed loads in real time.
    3. Staff commute patterns. Waterfront staff arrival and departure timing should be reviewed. Shift starts and ends that pre-construction tracked one corridor pattern will need to track a different one once active work begins.

    The marina, port, and Waterfront Place tenants

    The Port of Everett’s marina and the active commercial development at Waterfront Place sit at the southern end of the affected corridor. The boater experience and the dine-and-dock pattern that the Port has been building (covered in our Waterfront Place complete guide) keeps functioning during construction, but operational planning should assume that visiting boaters and waterfront visitors arrive having navigated more friction than usual on the way in.

    The honest customer-experience read: the businesses that win during the construction window are the ones who actively help customers navigate to them — clear directions in marketing materials, real-time updates on access status, and partnerships with the city’s project communication team to push closure information to mailing lists.

    Hotels, tourism, and event venues

    Waterfront hotel and short-term rental operators should price the corridor reality into 2026-2027 reservation marketing. Visitors arriving by car for a downtown stay will encounter the construction corridor; visitors arriving for a marina-side or waterfront event will encounter it more directly.

    For event venues with logistics tied to the corridor — load-in, parking, shuttle routes — build a 2026-2027 logistics playbook that assumes corridor congestion. The lift on event ops is real but manageable with planning; the operators who get blindsided are the ones who run a 2024 playbook against 2026 conditions.

    Developers with active or planned projects in the corridor

    Three considerations:

    Permitting interactions. Site-specific permits along West Marine View Drive will reference the active construction corridor. Coordinate with the city on staging, deliveries, and traffic control to avoid conflicts with the public project’s phasing schedule.

    Long-horizon valuation. The combined sewer overflow program is the foundation that lets future shoreline development continue. A waterfront with chronic CSO events constrains shoreline use; a waterfront with a 95% overflow reduction expands the development envelope. The $113 million is the unglamorous infrastructure that protects the value thesis of every shoreline development project on the books.

    Connection to the broader $200M+ storage facility procurement. The pipeline construction is the first half of a two-part program. Watch the Port Gardner Storage Facility procurement milestones — they signal the second half of the construction window and the ultimate compliance schedule the city is operating against.

    Utility rate context for commercial ratepayers

    The $113 million pipeline funding comes from the city’s water and sewer utility fund. Commercial ratepayers carry a portion of that fund’s revenue base alongside residential ratepayers. As the city absorbs the broader cost of the Port Gardner Storage Facility program, the pressure on the rate-setting calculus increases.

    For commercial operators with high water and sewer consumption — restaurants, hotels, food production, laundries — the medium-term outlook should assume continued upward pressure on utility costs. The exact rate impact depends on bond structure, federal and state grant offsets, and procurement timing on the larger storage facility. The broader budget context is in our complete 2027 budget deficit guide.

    The 24-month operational checklist

    • Update customer-facing wayfinding for corridor access
    • Renegotiate supplier delivery windows in advance
    • Review staff commute patterns and shift-start logistics
    • Subscribe to city project communications for West Marine View Drive
    • For events: build a 2026-2027 logistics playbook that assumes corridor congestion
    • For developers: coordinate permits with the public project’s phasing schedule
    • For high-consumption commercial ratepayers: model continued utility rate pressure into 2026-2028 budgets

    The longer view

    The combined sewer overflow program is one of the largest infrastructure investments the city has made in years. It is unglamorous and will not get a ribbon cutting that draws a crowd. But its downstream effect — a meaningfully cleaner Port Gardner Bay over the next decade — strengthens the waterfront’s commercial fundamentals in a way that no marketing campaign can match. For waterfront businesses and developers willing to absorb the construction window, the post-construction waterfront is a stronger commercial environment than the pre-construction one.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does construction start?

    Construction could begin as early as June 2026 and is expected to continue through the end of 2027.

    Will the corridor close completely?

    Full corridor closures are unlikely as the standard pattern for projects of this scope. Phased lane closures with traffic-control management are typical. Watch the city’s project page for phase-by-phase closure schedules; the lane configuration in place today is not what will be in place for much of 2026-2027.

    How will customer access be affected?

    Customers reaching waterfront businesses via West Marine View Drive should plan for sustained lane impacts during active pipe-trench excavation phases. Operators who push real-time access information to their mailing lists and social channels typically maintain customer flow better than those who do not.

    How does this affect Waterfront Place?

    Waterfront Place tenants and Port marina users continue operating during construction; the corridor congestion is the variable. The post-construction waterfront — with reduced overflow events and a meaningfully cleaner bay — is a commercially stronger environment than the pre-construction one.

    Will commercial water rates go up?

    The $113 million is funded out of the utility fund, and the broader Port Gardner Storage Facility program is estimated at more than $200 million total. As the city carries those costs, upward pressure on rates is realistic. Exact impact moves with bond structure, grants, and rate-setting decisions; commercial operators with high consumption should model continued pressure into 2026-2028 budgets.

    What’s the upside for waterfront businesses?

    Engineers project a 95% reduction in combined sewer overflow events into Port Gardner Bay once the system is operational. Cleaner bay water compounds the commercial value of the working waterfront — for restaurants, hotels, marina operators, and developers — over the next decade.


  • Everett’s $113 Million Pipeline Project: What It Means for Residents — Construction, Water Bills, and the Bay

    Everett’s $113 Million Pipeline Project: What It Means for Residents — Construction, Water Bills, and the Bay

    What does Everett’s $113 million pipeline project mean for me as a resident? Three things to plan for: (1) sustained construction along West Marine View Drive from approximately June 2026 through the end of 2027, (2) eventual upward pressure on water and sewer rates as the city absorbs the cost of the broader Port Gardner Storage Facility program, and (3) measurably cleaner Port Gardner Bay water once the system is operational — engineers project a 95% reduction in combined sewer overflows.

    This is the resident-side read of the $113 million pipeline core guide. The core walks through the engineering and the funding mechanism. This one walks through what it actually means for your driving, your bills, and your relationship with the bay.

    Your driving: assume the corridor changes

    West Marine View Drive between the Grand Avenue Bridge and Hewitt Avenue is going to be an active construction corridor for most of 2026 and 2027. That stretch is one of the most-driven roads in the city — it is the route between the north end and the downtown waterfront, the marina, and the port.

    The realistic posture: assume sustained lane impacts during pipe-trench excavation phases, plan an alternate route for any time-sensitive trips, and check the city’s project communication channels before driving the corridor at peak hours during construction windows. The lane configuration in place today is not the configuration that will be in place for much of the next 18 months.

    If you commute to the waterfront for work, watch for early communication on staging and night-work windows. The most disruptive phases of pipe replacement projects tend to be lifted into night and weekend windows when feasible, but the corridor is long enough that not every phase will fit that pattern.

    Your water bill: pressure, but not a single line item

    The $113 million for the pipeline is funded out of the city’s water and sewer utility fund. That money cannot legally be redirected to parks, police, or the general fund — utility infrastructure dollars stay with utility infrastructure. So the question is not “is this taking money from city services I use.” The question is “does this push my monthly utility bill higher.”

    The directionally honest answer: yes, projects of this scale put pressure on the utility rate-setting conversation. The $113 million pipeline is part of the broader Port Gardner Storage Facility program estimated at more than $200 million total. As the city carries the cost through bond issuances and ratepayer revenue, the rate calculus tightens.

    The exact monthly impact depends on bond structure, federal and state grant offsets, and the timing of the larger storage facility procurement. Watch for utility billing notifications and the public rate-setting meetings — those are where the line items become specific. The broader budget context for this rate pressure is in our complete 2027 budget deficit guide.

    Your bay: the actual win

    Combined sewer overflows are the reason Port Gardner Bay water quality has historically not been what it could be. When heavy rains overwhelm the city’s combined stormwater-and-sewer pipes, the system overflows at designated discharge points — sending a mix of rainwater and untreated wastewater into the nearest body of water. Port Gardner Bay and the Snohomish River have been the destinations.

    The Port Gardner Storage Facility, once built, will hold approximately 7 million gallons of excess flow during heavy rain events, then meter that flow through the treatment plant in the hours and days after the storm. Engineers expect approximately a 95% reduction in combined sewer overflow events.

    That is a measurable, tangible benefit that compounds over time — for shellfish health, recreational water use, ecological function, and the Port’s working waterfront character. If you have ever wondered why the city pours this much money into infrastructure no one will ever see, the bay is the answer.

    Your waterfront, in context

    The pipeline and storage facility are happening alongside a lot of other waterfront work. Read these as one connected story:

    • Waterfront Place at the Port of Everett — the restaurant row and tenant development
    • The Millwright District Phase 2 — apartments and commercial space
    • The Edgewater Bridge reopening
    • The broader Imagine Everett vision

    The combined sewer overflow infrastructure is the unglamorous foundation that lets the waterfront keep developing. Without it, future shoreline development gets harder.

    The practical resident calendar

    • Now through May 2026: Pre-construction planning, design finalization, watch for staging communications.
    • June 2026: Construction could begin. Watch for the first lane closure notices.
    • 2026-2027: Active construction along the corridor. Plan alternate routes for any peak-hour driving along West Marine View Drive.
    • End of 2027: Pipeline construction wraps. The Port Gardner Storage Facility’s separate construction timeline carries forward.
    • Multi-year: Combined sewer overflow events drop sharply once the full system is operational.

    What you can actually do

    • Subscribe to the city’s project notifications for West Marine View Drive (the city’s CSO program page is the master source)
    • Show up to the rate-setting public meetings — that is where utility bill impacts get decided
    • Plan an alternate route for waterfront-bound trips during 2026-2027 construction windows
    • Ask candidates running for council about utility rate strategy — the bills that come out of these projects are a council-level decision

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Will my water bill go up immediately?

    Not as a direct line item tomorrow. Utility rate impacts from infrastructure projects this large move through bond structures, grant offsets, and rate-setting meetings over time. Watch for utility billing notifications and the public rate-setting hearings for specifics.

    Will West Marine View Drive be closed during construction?

    Multi-month lane impacts are realistic for a project of this scope and corridor length. Full closures of the corridor are unlikely; phased lane closures with traffic-control management are the standard pattern. Watch the city’s project page for phase-by-phase closure schedules.

    What if I use the marina or the Port?

    Plan extra travel time during peak construction windows. Port and marina access remains; the corridor congestion is the variable. Marina users with shift-sensitive boat work should build a 15-minute buffer into trips during active construction phases.

    How clean will the bay actually get?

    Engineers project approximately a 95% reduction in combined sewer overflow events once the full system is operational. The bay will not become a different body of water overnight, but the cumulative water-quality, shellfish-health, and ecological improvements compound year over year.

    Could the project be cancelled or delayed?

    The Washington Department of Ecology has ordered the broader combined sewer overflow reduction program. The schedule is enforceable — material delays carry compliance risk. Funding can shift between bond and grant sources, but the project itself is not optional.

    Where does the money come from if not from my taxes?

    The $113 million is funded out of the city’s water and sewer utility fund, which is fed by utility ratepayer revenue and bond issuances. That fund is legally restricted to utility infrastructure and cannot be redirected to general government services like parks or police.


  • Everett’s $113 Million West Marine View Pipeline and the $200M+ Port Gardner Storage Facility: A Complete 2026 Guide

    Everett’s $113 Million West Marine View Pipeline and the $200M+ Port Gardner Storage Facility: A Complete 2026 Guide

    What is the $113 million Everett pipeline project? On April 2, 2026, the Everett City Council approved $113 million for the construction phase of new combined stormwater and sewer pipes plus a 48-inch water main replacement along West Marine View Drive — from the Grand Avenue Bridge in the north down to Hewitt Avenue in the south. The pipes feed the planned Port Gardner Storage Facility, a state-mandated combined sewer overflow project budgeted at more than $200 million that will hold approximately 7 million gallons of excess stormwater so it can be treated rather than discharged into Port Gardner Bay or the Snohomish River. Construction could begin as early as June 2026 and continue through the end of 2027. Engineers expect the facility to reduce combined sewer overflows by approximately 95%.

    The two projects, and how they work together

    What got approved on April 2 is the connective tissue. The $113 million pays for the pipes that carry the flow. Those pipes feed the Port Gardner Storage Facility — a separate, much larger project currently estimated at more than $200 million. The storage facility is the catchment basin; the pipes are the route. Without the pipes, the storage facility is a giant tank with no way to fill it. Without the storage facility, the pipes are oversized infrastructure with nowhere to send the flow.

    That is why the council is treating the funding as a single decision tree even though the dollar figures are split. The April 2 vote authorized the construction phase of the pipe component. The storage facility funding sits in its own approval and procurement track. Both have to land for the system to function.

    What the $113 million buys

    The ordinance allocates the construction-phase funding for three concurrent scopes inside the West Marine View Drive corridor:

    • A new combined stormwater-and-sewer pipe sized to carry significantly more flow than the existing system
    • Replacement of the existing 48-inch water main running along the same corridor
    • Connections that tie the new pipes into the upstream Port Gardner Storage Facility

    The corridor runs from the Grand Avenue Bridge at the north end of the waterfront down to Hewitt Avenue at the southern downtown waterfront — the entire length of the road that connects the north end of the city to the marina, the port, and the downtown waterfront.

    Why the state is making Everett build this

    Combined sewer systems are a 19th- and early-20th-century engineering pattern. In a combined system, stormwater and sanitary sewer share the same underground pipe. On a normal day that works fine. During a heavy rain, the system gets overwhelmed and the pipes do what they were designed to do as a safety valve — they overflow at designated points, sending a mix of rainwater and untreated wastewater into the nearest body of water.

    In Everett, the nearest bodies of water are Port Gardner Bay and the Snohomish River.

    The Washington Department of Ecology has been requiring cities with combined sewer systems to reduce overflow events for decades. Everett’s combined sewer overflow reduction program has been ratcheting down the number of allowed overflow events year by year. The Port Gardner Storage Facility — and the $113 million pipes that feed it — is the city’s response to the most recent compliance requirements. This is not an optional project. The state has ordered it. The schedule is enforceable. The $113 million is the price of compliance.

    The 7-million-gallon answer

    The Port Gardner Storage Facility, once built, will hold approximately 7 million gallons of excess stormwater during heavy rain events. Instead of overflowing into the bay, that flow gets metered out through the treatment plant in the hours and days after the storm. Engineers expect the facility to reduce combined sewer overflows by approximately 95%.

    The downstream effect is significant. Port Gardner Bay is the working waterfront, the marina, and an active recreational and ecological zone. Reducing overflow events there has water-quality, shellfish-safety, and habitat implications that compound year over year.

    Where the money comes from

    This is the part that often gets lost in the headline. The $113 million pipeline funding comes from the city’s water and sewer utility fund, not the general fund. That money cannot be redirected to parks, police, libraries, or general government. Utility fund revenue comes from utility ratepayers, and it is restricted to utility infrastructure spending.

    What that means in practice: the project is not a tradeoff against other city services. It does, however, sit inside the broader rate-setting conversation that determines water and sewer bills going forward. As the city carries the cost of large combined-sewer-overflow compliance projects, the pressure on ratepayer bills increases. That conversation runs in parallel with the budget deficit story already covered in our complete 2027 budget deficit guide.

    The construction footprint

    Construction could begin as early as June 2026 and continue through the end of 2027. The corridor — Grand Avenue Bridge to Hewitt Avenue along West Marine View Drive — is one of the most-driven roads in the city. It connects the north end of Everett to the downtown waterfront and the Port. Multi-month lane impacts are realistic for a project of this scope and length, particularly during pipe-trench excavation phases.

    For commuters, marina users, and waterfront business operators, the practical advice is to assume sustained corridor disruption and watch the city’s project page for phase-by-phase closure schedules. The lane configuration that exists today is not the lane configuration that will exist for much of 2026 and 2027.

    How this fits with the rest of the waterfront story

    The pipeline and storage facility are not happening in isolation. The waterfront is in active redevelopment — see the Waterfront Place complete guide, the Millwright District Phase 2, the Edgewater Bridge reopening, and the broader Imagine Everett vision. The combined sewer overflow infrastructure is the unglamorous foundation that makes everything above ground possible. Without compliance, future shoreline development gets harder. With it, the bay water quality story moves in the right direction over the next decade.

    What to watch next

    • June 2026 construction start signal — confirms the ramp into the heavy work
    • Port Gardner Storage Facility procurement milestones — the $200M-plus parent project
    • Department of Ecology compliance reporting on overflow events
    • Water and sewer rate notifications — the pass-through to ratepayers
    • Lane closure communications from the city — the operational impact

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does the $113 million pay for?

    The $113 million funds the construction phase of new combined stormwater and sewer pipes plus replacement of an existing 48-inch water main along West Marine View Drive, from the Grand Avenue Bridge to Hewitt Avenue. The pipes feed the planned Port Gardner Storage Facility.

    What is the Port Gardner Storage Facility?

    The Port Gardner Storage Facility is a state-mandated combined sewer overflow project, currently estimated at more than $200 million, that will hold approximately 7 million gallons of excess stormwater during heavy rain events. Instead of overflowing into Port Gardner Bay or the Snohomish River, the stormwater is held until it can be treated.

    Why did the state require this project?

    The Washington Department of Ecology requires cities with combined sewer systems — older systems where stormwater and sanitary sewer share one pipe — to reduce overflow events. Everett has been ratcheting down its allowed overflow count for decades; this facility is the city’s response to the most recent compliance requirements.

    When does construction start?

    Construction could begin as early as June 2026. Work is expected to continue through the end of 2027.

    Where does the money come from?

    Funding comes from the city’s water and sewer utility fund. That money is restricted to utility infrastructure and cannot be redirected to general government services like parks or police.

    How much will combined sewer overflows be reduced?

    Engineers expect the Port Gardner Storage Facility, once operational, to reduce combined sewer overflows by approximately 95%.

    Will my water bill go up because of this?

    Utility infrastructure spending of this scale puts pressure on the rate-setting conversation that determines water and sewer bills. The exact rate impact moves with the broader utility fund and bond pictures; watch city utility billing notifications and the rate-setting public meetings for specifics.

    Will West Marine View Drive be closed?

    Multi-month lane impacts are realistic for a project of this scope and corridor length. Watch the city’s project page for phase-by-phase closure schedules; the lane configuration in place today is not the configuration that will be in place for much of 2026 and 2027.


  • Everett Just Approved $3.1M to Design a Pedestrian Bridge Over Broadway: What the New EvCC + WSU Everett Crossing Actually Solves

    Everett Just Approved $3.1M to Design a Pedestrian Bridge Over Broadway: What the New EvCC + WSU Everett Crossing Actually Solves

    What did Everett approve for the Broadway pedestrian bridge? On April 23, 2026, the Everett City Council approved a $3.1 million contract with engineering and planning consultancy Kimley-Horn to design a pedestrian bridge over Broadway in north Everett. The bridge will connect Everett Community College’s main campus to the Learning Resource Center on the east side of Broadway, with a connection that also serves the WSU Everett campus. The design is expected to be complete by the end of 2028. The bridge will likely be located just north of 10th Street.

    There is a six-lane road in north Everett called Broadway that thousands of college students cross every weekday — most of them on foot, most of them on a tight schedule between classes, almost all of them at street level with cars. On April 23, the Everett City Council took the first step toward fixing that.

    The council approved a $3.1 million contract with engineering firm Kimley-Horn to design a pedestrian bridge over Broadway connecting Everett Community College’s main campus to the Learning Resource Center, the campus library and study building that sits across the road on the east side. The same bridge will also tie into the WSU Everett campus, which shares the same general area on Broadway just north of downtown.

    This is one of those projects that does not get covered the way a stadium vote or a waterfront groundbreaking gets covered, but that quietly shapes daily life for thousands of Everett residents. We watched the contract approval and dug into the scope to figure out what is actually being built and on what timeline.

    What the $3.1 million does, and what it does not do

    The first thing to understand about the April 23 vote is that it does not build a bridge. It pays for the design of a bridge.

    The $3.1 million contract with Kimley-Horn — a national engineering and planning firm with a Northwest office — covers the design phase only. That includes the structural engineering, the architecture, the geotechnical work, the traffic analysis, the utility coordination, the permitting work, the public outreach process, and the construction documents that a future contractor will need to actually build the structure.

    A pedestrian bridge over a six-lane arterial like Broadway is not a small piece of engineering. It has to clear traffic with adequate vertical clearance, accommodate emergency vehicle heights, meet ADA accessibility requirements end to end, handle Pacific Northwest weather and seismic loading, and connect cleanly to existing pedestrian paths on both campuses. Kimley-Horn’s contract covers all of that work.

    The design phase is expected to wrap up at the end of 2028. That is the realistic timeline for a piece of infrastructure of this complexity, and it accounts for the public engagement, environmental review, and permit process that has to happen before construction can be put out to bid.

    Once the design is complete, a separate council vote will approve the construction contract. That is a different ordinance, a different price tag, and a different timeline — and right now the city has not announced a target construction start date or estimated total cost for the build.

    Why a bridge here, specifically

    Everett Community College is one of the larger institutions in the city by daily population. The main campus sits on the west side of Broadway between roughly 22nd Street and Tower Street. The Learning Resource Center — which houses much of the library, study, and student services functions — is on the east side of Broadway. The WSU Everett campus sits in the same area, sharing facilities and a daily student population with EvCC.

    Today, students moving between buildings cross Broadway at street-level signalized intersections. Broadway in this stretch is a six-lane arterial that carries significant car traffic between north Everett and downtown, and the at-grade crossings introduce real conflicts between pedestrian flow and vehicle movement. During class change times — the 10-minute windows when several thousand students simultaneously try to get from one building to the next — the crossings get crowded, the wait times for cars stack up, and pedestrians and drivers end up in the same intersections under time pressure.

    A grade-separated pedestrian bridge eliminates the conflict. Students walk over the road. Cars do not stop. Class change becomes faster, safer, and more predictable for everybody.

    The likely location north of 10th Street puts the bridge close to the natural foot traffic between the main campus and the Learning Resource Center. The exact siting will be one of the design phase decisions over the next two and a half years.

    Why this fits Everett’s broader pattern

    The Broadway pedestrian bridge is part of a noticeable shift in how Everett is thinking about its right-of-way. The city has spent the last several years putting more weight on pedestrian and bike infrastructure as a deliberate policy choice — the new Edgewater Bridge that opens to traffic April 28 includes wide sidewalks and 5-foot bike lanes on each side, the Pacific Avenue Gateway project includes a public art installation at the Pacific entrance from I-5, and the multi-year work on downtown streetscapes has prioritized pedestrian-friendly design over pure vehicle throughput.

    The Broadway bridge fits the same pattern. North Everett is one of the densest pedestrian environments in the city — between EvCC, WSU Everett, the residential neighborhoods around them, and the commercial strips on either side of Broadway, this is a part of the city that is genuinely walked. Investing $3.1 million in design now signals that the city is willing to put real capital into making that walkability safer.

    It is also a partnership story worth noting. The bridge serves the EvCC and WSU Everett campuses primarily. The design and construction are being led by the city. That kind of city-and-institution coordination is the only way a piece of infrastructure like this gets built — campuses cannot construct in city right-of-way on their own, and the city cannot prioritize a single-purpose pedestrian crossing without a clear partner. The fact that the project moved from concept to a $3.1 million design contract suggests that all the parties involved have aligned on what they want and how to pay for it.

    What to watch over the next two and a half years

    A few specific things will tell us how this project actually evolves between now and the end of 2028.

    Watch the public engagement process. The city and Kimley-Horn will run multiple rounds of public input on the bridge design — siting, aesthetics, lighting, public art elements, how it connects to existing pedestrian paths, how it handles weather. Students, faculty, neighbors, and broader Everett residents will all have a chance to weigh in. The dates and meeting formats will be posted on the city’s project page as they firm up.

    Watch the alignment selection. Kimley-Horn will likely produce two to four candidate alignment options early in the design process. The exact location north of 10th Street, the angle of the bridge, the column placement and the connection points to existing campus paths are all decisions that will be made publicly. Each option has trade-offs around cost, traffic disruption during construction, sightlines, and how cleanly it ties into existing buildings.

    Watch the construction cost estimate when it lands. The $3.1 million is design only. The construction estimate will not be public until the design phase produces a real, biddable scope — likely in late 2027 or 2028. When it does land, it will be the number that determines whether the bridge actually moves to construction or whether the project stalls for funding reasons. Pedestrian bridges over six-lane arterials are not cheap, and the city will need to decide where the construction money comes from.

    Watch what happens to the on-the-ground experience for EvCC and WSU Everett students between now and the end of 2028. The bridge does not exist yet, and will not for several more years. In the meantime, signal timing improvements, crosswalk markings, and other interim safety measures at the existing at-grade crossings are within the city’s reach right now. The Broadway pedestrian bridge is the long-term answer. Better at-grade crossings are the bridge between now and the bridge.

    The honest read

    This is the kind of city-shaping decision that does not move the news cycle but moves a piece of the city. By the end of 2028, north Everett will have a fully designed pedestrian bridge over one of its busiest arterials, ready to put out to bid. By some point in the early 2030s, depending on construction funding and timing, that bridge will be carrying students between EvCC’s two main building groups every weekday.

    For a $3.1 million design vote that did not make a single regional headline, that is a meaningful piece of how the city actually changes over the next decade.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What did the Everett City Council approve on April 23, 2026?

    The Everett City Council approved a $3.1 million contract with engineering consultancy Kimley-Horn to design a pedestrian bridge over Broadway in north Everett. The contract covers the design phase only — including engineering, permitting, public engagement, and construction documents. A separate future council vote will be needed to approve the construction contract.

    Where will the Broadway pedestrian bridge be located?

    The bridge will likely be located just north of 10th Street on Broadway, connecting Everett Community College’s main campus on the west side of Broadway to the Learning Resource Center on the east side. The bridge will also connect to the WSU Everett campus, which shares the same area. The exact siting will be determined during the design phase.

    When will the Broadway pedestrian bridge be built?

    The design phase is expected to be complete by the end of 2028. After design is finalized, the city will need to put the construction phase out to bid and approve a separate construction contract. A specific construction start date and overall project completion date have not yet been announced.

    Who is designing the bridge?

    Kimley-Horn, a national engineering and planning consultancy, was awarded the $3.1 million design contract by the Everett City Council on April 23, 2026.

    Why does Everett need a pedestrian bridge over Broadway?

    Broadway in this stretch is a six-lane arterial carrying significant traffic between north Everett and downtown. Today, students moving between Everett Community College’s main campus and the Learning Resource Center on the east side of the road cross at street-level signalized intersections. A grade-separated pedestrian bridge eliminates the conflict between pedestrians and vehicles and improves safety and flow during class change times.

    How much will the Broadway pedestrian bridge cost in total?

    The $3.1 million approved on April 23 covers only the design phase. The construction cost estimate will not be public until the design phase produces a biddable scope, likely in late 2027 or 2028. Pedestrian bridges over multi-lane arterials are significant infrastructure projects and the construction cost will be set by the design once it is complete.

    What about students who need to cross Broadway right now?

    The bridge will not exist for several years. In the meantime, EvCC and WSU Everett students continue to cross Broadway at the existing signalized intersections. The city has tools for improving safety at those at-grade crossings — signal timing, crosswalk markings, signage — that are within reach in the near term while the bridge design and construction process plays out.

  • Everett Just Approved $113 Million for the Biggest Pipe Project in Years: Here’s What’s Going Under West Marine View Drive

    Everett Just Approved $113 Million for the Biggest Pipe Project in Years: Here’s What’s Going Under West Marine View Drive

    What is the $113 million Everett pipeline project? On April 2, 2026, the Everett City Council approved a $113 million ordinance funding the construction phase of new combined stormwater and sewer pipes plus a 48-inch water main replacement along West Marine View Drive, from the Grand Avenue Bridge in the north down to Hewitt Avenue in the south. The pipes will feed the planned $200 million-plus Port Gardner Storage Facility, a state-mandated combined sewer overflow project that will temporarily hold excess stormwater so it can be treated rather than dumped into Port Gardner Bay or the Snohomish River.

    There is a kind of Everett project that does not get a ribbon cutting and does not show up on most people’s mental map of the city, but that quietly determines what the waterfront looks like, smells like, and is allowed to be used for. Combined sewer overflows are at the top of that list. And on April 2, the Everett City Council voted to spend $113 million on the largest single piece of infrastructure addressing them in years.

    We have been watching this one for months because the dollar figure is enormous, the construction footprint runs along one of the most-driven roads in the city, and the underlying problem — sewage and stormwater dumping into Port Gardner Bay during heavy rains — is something the state has ordered Everett to fix on a schedule that does not move.

    Here is what the council actually approved, and what it means for the city.

    What the $113 million buys

    The ordinance allocates $113 million to the construction phase of new water, stormwater, and sewer pipelines along West Marine View Drive. The route runs from the Grand Avenue Bridge at the north end of the corridor down to Hewitt Avenue in the south — that is the entire length of the waterfront frontage road that connects the north end of the city to the downtown waterfront, the marina, and the port.

    Inside that corridor, the project includes:

    • A new combined stormwater and sewer pipe sized to carry significantly more flow than the existing system
    • Replacement of an existing 48-inch water main that runs along the same corridor
    • The connections needed to tie the new pipes into the upstream Port Gardner Storage Facility, which is the catchment basin the new pipes feed

    The pipe work itself is the visible part. The whole point of the pipe work is to feed the Port Gardner Storage Facility, which is a separate, much larger project — currently estimated at more than $200 million — that will hold excess flows during heavy rain events and meter them out for treatment instead of letting them overflow into the bay.

    The $113 million pipeline is the connective tissue. Without it, the storage facility is a giant tank with no way to fill it.

    Why the state is making Everett build this

    Combined sewer systems are an artifact of the way American cities built their underground infrastructure between roughly 1880 and 1950. In a combined system, stormwater and sanitary sewer share the same pipe. On a normal day that works fine. During a heavy rain, the system gets overwhelmed, and the pipes do what they were designed to do as a safety valve — they overflow at designated points, sending a mix of rainwater and untreated wastewater into the nearest body of water.

    In Everett, those nearest bodies of water are Port Gardner Bay and the Snohomish River.

    The Washington Department of Ecology has been requiring cities with combined sewer systems to reduce their overflow events for decades. Everett’s combined sewer overflow reduction program has been ratcheting down the number of allowed overflow events year by year. The Port Gardner Storage Facility — and the pipes that feed it — is the city’s response to the most recent compliance requirements.

    This is not an optional project. The state has ordered it. The schedule is enforceable. The $113 million spend is the price of that compliance.

    Where the money is coming from

    This is the part that often gets lost in the headline. The $113 million does not come out of Everett’s general fund. It cannot be used for parks, police, libraries, or anything else the city’s general budget covers.

    The money comes from the city’s water and sewer utility fund. That fund is fed by what residents and businesses pay on their water and sewer bills. It is legally restricted to water and sewer system uses, which is exactly what this project is.

    What that means in practice is that the pressure point for ratepayers is not now — the funds for this construction phase are being drawn from existing utility reserves and previously authorized borrowing — but over the long term as the utility recapitalizes those reserves through future rate decisions. Everett residents have already seen incremental increases in their water and sewer bills tied to the broader combined sewer overflow program over the last several years. This $113 million approval is consistent with the trajectory the utility has been on.

    It is also separate from the proposed utility tax increase that has been moving through council on a different track. That is general fund money. This is restricted utility fund money. Two different conversations, both important, easy to confuse.

    What construction looks like on the ground

    If you drive West Marine View Drive — the frontage road that connects the north end of the city, past the Naval Station gates, down past Legion Park and toward downtown — you are going to spend a lot of time over the next two years driving past construction.

    The pipe corridor runs underneath that road. Trenching a 42-inch combined pipe and replacing a 48-inch water main means digging significant sections of the right-of-way, staging materials, and managing traffic through a corridor that already carries Naval Station traffic, marina traffic, downtown commuters, and freight to the port.

    The city’s public works department has not yet released the full lane closure schedule for the West Marine View work tied to this approval, but the size of the spend and the length of the corridor make it almost certain that residents in north Everett, port users, and Naval Station personnel will see real impacts on their commutes once construction mobilizes.

    The Pacific Avenue pipeline work — a separate but related $1,000 linear foot, 42-inch pipe project between Pine Street and Chestnut Street that is scheduled to begin in summer 2026 — adds to the picture downtown. Together, these are the largest underground infrastructure projects the city has had in motion at one time in years.

    Why this matters beyond plumbing

    A few reasons this is worth paying attention to even if the words “combined sewer overflow” make your eyes glaze over.

    First, water quality. Every overflow event that does not happen is wastewater that does not enter Port Gardner Bay. The Port Gardner shoreline is the single most-used recreation corridor in the city — Howarth Park, Jetty Island, the marina promenade, the swimming and paddling that families do at the waterfront. Cleaner water there is a public health and quality-of-life issue, not just a regulatory checkbox.

    Second, the waterfront economy. The Port of Everett’s $1 billion Waterfront Place redevelopment, the Millwright District buildout, the new restaurants and apartments and the planned hotel expansion — all of it depends on Port Gardner Bay being a clean, swimmable, fishable waterfront. Combined sewer overflows are the single biggest threat to that economic story. The state knows it. The port knows it. The city knows it. The $113 million pipeline is part of the long unsexy work of protecting the asset that everything else is built around.

    Third, regulatory exposure. If Everett misses the state’s compliance schedule on combined sewer overflow reduction, the consequences are not abstract. Cities that fall behind on Ecology’s CSO orders face escalating enforcement actions, mandated additional spending under tighter timelines, and in extreme cases consent decrees that take spending decisions out of local hands entirely. Spending $113 million on a pipeline now is much less expensive than the alternatives a few years down the road.

    What to watch

    Three things to keep an eye on as this project moves into construction.

    Watch the construction schedule and lane closure announcements for West Marine View Drive. The city will publish them on its public works project page as they firm up. North Everett residents and Naval Station commuters in particular will want to plan around them.

    Watch the Port Gardner Storage Facility procurement and construction milestones. The pipe project is feeding a much larger storage facility, and the two have to land on a coordinated timeline for either to function. The storage facility is the bigger spend, the longer construction window, and the project that will most determine when Everett actually achieves its compliance targets.

    Watch the long-term utility rate trajectory. This $113 million is funded from existing utility reserves and authorized debt, but the cumulative cost of the city’s combined sewer overflow program — across this project, the storage facility, the Pacific Avenue work, and other planned upgrades — will eventually show up in water and sewer rates in the years ahead.

    The pipeline goes in the ground. The water gets cleaner. The waterfront keeps growing. That is the deal Everett is signing up for, and on April 2 the council put $113 million behind it.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What did the Everett City Council approve on April 2, 2026?

    The Everett City Council voted to allocate $113 million to the construction phase of new combined stormwater and sewer pipes, along with the replacement of an existing 48-inch water main, running along West Marine View Drive from the Grand Avenue Bridge in the north to Hewitt Avenue in the south.

    What is the Port Gardner Storage Facility?

    The Port Gardner Storage Facility is a planned, more than $200 million city-built underground tank designed to temporarily hold excess flows from Everett’s combined sewer system during heavy rain events, so the wastewater can be treated rather than overflow into Port Gardner Bay. The $113 million pipeline project will carry flows to the storage facility.

    Why does Everett have combined sewer overflows?

    Like many older American cities, Everett’s underground infrastructure includes a combined sewer system where stormwater and sanitary sewer flow through the same pipes. During heavy rain events, the pipes can be overwhelmed and overflow at designated points into the nearest body of water — in Everett’s case, Port Gardner Bay and the Snohomish River. The Washington Department of Ecology requires cities with combined sewer systems to reduce these overflow events on a state-enforced compliance schedule.

    Who pays for the $113 million pipeline project?

    The $113 million comes from the city’s water and sewer utility fund, which is funded by what residents and businesses pay on their water and sewer bills. Utility funds are legally restricted to water and sewer system uses and cannot be redirected to general government services like parks, police, or libraries.

    Will this project affect my commute?

    Construction will require significant trenching along West Marine View Drive, which is the frontage road between north Everett and the downtown waterfront. The city has not yet released the full lane closure schedule, but the size and length of the corridor make traffic impacts likely for north Everett residents, marina and port users, and Naval Station commuters once construction mobilizes.

    Is this related to the Pacific Avenue pipeline project?

    The two projects are part of the same broader combined sewer overflow program but are technically separate. The Pacific Avenue Pipeline Improvements project is a roughly 1,000 linear foot, 42-inch pipe between Pine Street and Chestnut Street downtown, with construction scheduled to begin in summer 2026. The West Marine View pipeline approved April 2 is a much larger, much longer corridor project on the waterfront frontage road.

    When will construction start?

    The April 2 approval funded the construction phase of the project. Specific groundbreaking and mobilization timing will be set as the city completes contractor procurement and finalizes lane closure and traffic plans for West Marine View Drive.

  • What the Lenora Stormwater Project Means If You Live or Walk in Lowell: A 2026 Resident’s Guide to the $8.7M Facility on S 1st and Lenora

    What the Lenora Stormwater Project Means If You Live or Walk in Lowell: A 2026 Resident’s Guide to the $8.7M Facility on S 1st and Lenora

    If you live in Lowell, walk the Lowell Riverfront Trail, or drive S 1st Avenue every day, here is what the new Lenora Stormwater Treatment Facility actually means for your neighborhood. Construction starts in April 2026 on a 0.27-acre city-owned lot at the corner of Lenora Street and S 1st Avenue, right next to Lowell Riverfront Park. The whole thing — $8.73 million — is paid for by a Washington State Department of Ecology grant, which is why it is not on your Everett utility bill.

    What’s Actually Going In Down the Street

    The corner where the new facility is being built is small — just under a third of an acre. Most Lowell residents have driven past it hundreds of times without noticing it as anything special. After construction, what you will see at ground level is a small landscaped surface with bioretention cells, a low-profile access path, and a city interpretive sign explaining what the facility does.

    The technology underneath is a five-cell Filterra Bioscape system. Two of the five cells will be fully operational at opening; the city designed the site so the remaining three cells can be brought online as Lowell’s drainage subbasins develop further. The bottom line for anyone walking by: this is not a treatment plant in the visual sense. It is a small, landscaped intersection upgrade with serious water-quality machinery underneath.

    Why It Matters Specifically to Lowell

    Lowell sits on a low riverfront bench between the Snohomish River and the BNSF tracks. Three small drainage subbasins — LW-9, LW-10, and LW-11, totaling 146.10 acres — concentrate fast during rain events and run toward the Marshland Canal, which empties into the river. That geography is exactly what creates the water-quality problem the Lenora facility is designed to fix.

    The runoff coming off Lowell streets, parking lots, and roofs carries the standard menu of urban stormwater pollutants:

    • Suspended solids that cloud the river and smother salmon spawning gravel.
    • Petroleum hydrocarbons from oil and fuel.
    • Dissolved copper from vehicle brake pads — acutely toxic to juvenile salmon at very low concentrations.
    • Dissolved zinc from tire wear, galvanized metal, and roofing.
    • Total phosphorus, which drives summer algae blooms downstream.

    The salmon question is not abstract. The Snohomish River system is salmon-bearing, and the stretch downstream of Lowell — toward the river mouth, Possession Sound, and Jetty Island — is exactly the kind of habitat that benefits most from removing dissolved copper and zinc upstream of where juvenile salmon swim through.

    Why It’s Not on Your Bill

    This is the part most Lowell residents will care about most directly. The Lenora facility is funded by Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement WQC-2025-EverPW-00177 in the amount of $8,733,920 — effectively the full project cost.

    Everett residents are already absorbing other utility-related conversations: the proposed $10.74-per-month utility tax hike going through City Council as part of the 2027 budget decision. The Lenora project is structurally separate. The state Ecology grant pays for it. The proposed utility tax is a different revenue mechanism for general fund purposes. Don’t conflate the two.

    What to Expect on the Lowell Riverfront Trail

    If your routine includes walking the Lowell Riverfront Trail, this is the practical part. The construction site is right at the corner of S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street, immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park. Expect:

    • Periodic construction activity through spring and summer 2026 — equipment, staging, deliveries.
    • Possible short trail detours along the affected segment near the corner; Public Works will post signage if a closure is necessary.
    • The trail itself stays intact. The facility footprint is at the edge of the park, not inside it. Day-of-day walkers, runners, and dog-walkers should be able to maintain their routine with minor reroutes.

    Why an $8.7M Stormwater Project Outranks the Stadium for Lowell Specifically

    For most of Everett, the spring 2026 construction headlines have been about the $10.6M downtown stadium interfund loan vote and the 300 new waterfront apartments at the Millwright District. Both matter to the city as a whole. Neither is what changes the river running past your house if you live in Lowell.

    The Lenora Stormwater Treatment Facility is the project that does. Removing dissolved copper and zinc from 146 acres of runoff before it reaches the Marshland Canal is the kind of upstream water-quality work that determines whether the river running through Lowell stays a credible salmon habitat over the next decade. That is a small project doing big work.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does construction start?

    April 2026.

    How long will construction last?

    The city has not published a final completion date publicly. Most facilities of this scope and footprint take several months to a year to complete; Public Works will post on-site signage with the active schedule once construction is underway.

    Will I be able to use the Lowell Riverfront Trail this spring and summer?

    Yes — with minor reroutes possible. Expect periodic construction activity at the corner and possible short detours. The trail itself stays open; the facility footprint is at the edge of the park.

    Will the project raise my utility bill?

    No. The Washington State Department of Ecology grant pays for the project. The proposed Everett utility tax hike is a separate matter at City Council and is unrelated to the Lenora project.

    Will I be able to see the facility from the trail?

    Yes. The Filterra system has surface elements — bioretention cells and access path — visible at ground level, and the city’s Public Works department typically installs an interpretive sign explaining what the facility does.

    Why this corner specifically?

    The site is city-owned, sized correctly for the Filterra Bioscape system, located at the convergence of three drainage subbasins (LW-9, LW-10, LW-11) and adjacent to a publicly accessible park, which makes operations and public education easier.

    Related Exploring Everett Coverage

  • Everett’s Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility: The Complete 2026 Guide to the $8.7M Lowell Project Cleaning the Snohomish River

    Everett’s Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility: The Complete 2026 Guide to the $8.7M Lowell Project Cleaning the Snohomish River

    Quick answer: The Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility is an $8.73 million water-quality project breaking ground in April 2026 on a 0.27-acre, city-owned lot at the corner of Lenora Street and S 1st Avenue in Lowell, immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park. It is funded primarily by Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement WQC-2025-EverPW-00177 in the amount of $8,733,920 — effectively the entire project cost. The facility will treat stormwater runoff from 146 acres of Lowell drainage (subbasins LW-9, LW-10, and LW-11) before it discharges into the Marshland Canal and the Snohomish River, removing total suspended solids, dissolved copper and zinc, total petroleum hydrocarbons, and total phosphorus.

    Why an $8.7M Stormwater Project Is Bigger News Than It Looks

    While most of Everett’s construction conversation in April 2026 has been about a $120 million stadium and 300 new waterfront apartments, an $8.73 million project is starting this month on a half-acre lot in Lowell that will quietly do more for the Snohomish River than any other capital project the city is funding right now. It is one of those projects nobody will livestream and nobody will design-render. It is also exactly the kind of work that determines whether Everett’s waterfront stays swimmable, fishable, and credible as a sustainability story over the next decade.

    Where It Is and What It Does

    The site is small — 11,944 square feet, 0.27 acres — at the northeast corner of S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street, immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park, on the west side of the BNSF railroad tracks. If you have ever parked at the Lowell Riverfront Trail to walk the dog, you have driven past it without noticing.

    The facility’s job is to take stormwater runoff from three drainage subbasins in Lowell — known to city staff as LW-9, LW-10, and LW-11, totaling 146.10 acres — and run it through a treatment train before it reaches the Marshland Canal system, which discharges into the Snohomish River. The first phase of the facility is a five-cell Filterra Bioscape system with two of the five cells fully functional at opening, giving the city a phased path to scale up treatment capacity as the surrounding subbasins develop further.

    What Gets Removed From the Runoff

    The contaminants the Lenora facility is designed to capture are the standard menu of urban stormwater pollutants:

    • Total suspended solids (TSS) — particulate matter that clouds water and smothers spawning gravel.
    • Total petroleum hydrocarbons — oil and fuel runoff from streets, driveways, and parking lots.
    • Dissolved copper — primarily from vehicle brake pads. Copper is acutely toxic to juvenile salmon at very low concentrations.
    • Dissolved zinc — from tire wear, galvanized metal, and roofing.
    • Total phosphorus — the driver of summer algae blooms downstream.

    The Marshland Canal discharges to the Snohomish River, which means everything the facility removes is something that does not enter the river — and does not enter Possession Sound or any of the salmon habitat between Lowell and the river mouth.

    The Funding Story

    The project is funded primarily by the Washington State Department of Ecology under Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement WQC-2025-EverPW-00177, in the amount of $8,733,920. That is roughly the entire project cost, which is why the City of Everett can deliver an $8.7M facility without putting it on the local utility bill.

    For Everett residents already absorbing the proposed $10.74-per-month utility tax hike going through council right now, the Lenora project is the rare piece of stormwater infrastructure that does not show up on your bill at all. The state Ecology grant covers it.

    Why Lowell Needed This

    Lowell is one of Everett’s most environmentally complex neighborhoods. It sits on a low riverfront bench between the Snohomish River and the BNSF tracks, with three small subbasins draining toward the Marshland Canal. The geography means stormwater from streets, parking lots, and roofs throughout the neighborhood concentrates fast and hits the river hard during rain events.

    The 146 acres covered by the Lenora facility include a mix of residential, commercial, and rail-adjacent uses. That mix is exactly the kind of urban runoff cocktail that does the most damage to salmon habitat, because dissolved copper from brake pads and dissolved zinc from tire wear behave like concentrated toxins for juvenile fish even at very low concentrations. Removing those before they reach the river is the difference between a healthy salmon return and a steady decline.

    How It Fits Everett’s Bigger Stormwater Picture

    Everett operates under a state-issued NPDES Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit. Among other things, that permit requires the city to identify high-priority drainage areas and progressively install treatment infrastructure that meets state water quality standards. The Stormwater Management Action Plan (SMAP) the city has been refining for several years identifies the Lowell subbasins as priorities precisely because they discharge directly to a salmon-bearing waterway with limited dilution. The Lenora facility is one of the more visible deliverables of that plan.

    What It Means for the Lowell Riverfront Trail

    The construction site is immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park, which means anyone using the Lowell Riverfront Trail this spring and summer should expect periodic construction activity, equipment staging, and possible short trail detours along the affected segment near S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street. The city’s Public Works department will post detour signage if any trail closures become necessary.

    The good news for trail users: the facility is going on a small footprint at the edge of the park, not inside it. The trail itself stays intact. Once the facility opens, the only visible change at the site will be the Filterra system’s surface elements — bioretention cells, a small access path, and a city interpretive sign that the Public Works department typically installs at completed water quality projects.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where exactly is the Lenora Stormwater Treatment Facility?

    At the northeast corner of S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street in Lowell, on a 0.27-acre city-owned lot adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park, west of the BNSF railroad tracks.

    How is it funded?

    Primarily by a Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement (WQC-2025-EverPW-00177) for $8,733,920 — effectively the full project cost.

    Will it raise my Everett utility bill?

    No. The state Ecology grant covers the project. This is structurally separate from the proposed $10.74-per-month utility tax hike currently before the City Council, which is a different revenue mechanism for general fund purposes.

    What pollutants does it remove?

    Total suspended solids, total petroleum hydrocarbons, dissolved copper, dissolved zinc, and total phosphorus — the contaminants most responsible for water-quality damage to juvenile salmon and downstream algae blooms.

    Where does the treated water go?

    The treated runoff discharges into the Marshland Canal system, which discharges into the Snohomish River.

    How big is the drainage area being treated?

    146.10 acres across three Lowell subbasins (LW-9, LW-10, LW-11). The treatment train uses a five-cell Filterra Bioscape system; two of the five cells will be fully functional at opening, with capacity to scale up.

    Will the Lowell Riverfront Trail close?

    Trail users should expect periodic construction activity and possible short detours along the segment near S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street. Public Works will post detour signage if any trail closures become necessary. The trail itself remains intact; the facility footprint is at the edge of the park, not inside it.

    Related Exploring Everett Coverage

  • Edgewater Bridge Community Celebration Is Monday at 3:30 — Here’s What to Know Before You Walk Across

    Edgewater Bridge Community Celebration Is Monday at 3:30 — Here’s What to Know Before You Walk Across

    Quick answer: The City of Everett is hosting a community celebration for the new Edgewater Bridge on Monday, April 27 at 3:30 p.m. Residents are invited to walk across the bridge, hear remarks from Everett and Mukilteo officials, and meet the project team. The bridge will not be open to vehicle traffic during the celebration. The bridge officially reopens to vehicles on Tuesday, April 28.

    After 18 months of detours, closures and the slow-motion choreography of a $34 million bridge replacement, the Edgewater Bridge is back. And before it opens to traffic, the city is throwing residents a chance to walk across it first.

    The community celebration is set for Monday, April 27 at 3:30 p.m. Mayor Cassie Franklin and officials from the City of Mukilteo are expected to deliver remarks, the project team will be on hand to walk attendees through how the bridge was rebuilt, and the public is invited to walk across the new span as part of the event.

    Then, at the end of the workday on Tuesday, April 28, the bridge will officially reopen to vehicle traffic — restoring the connection between Everett’s Mukilteo Boulevard corridor and the City of Mukilteo for the first time since fall 2024.

    What to Expect at the Celebration

    This is a community-style event, not a ribbon-cutting reception. The city has framed it as a chance for neighbors to walk the new bridge, learn how the replacement was built, and take in remarks from Everett and Mukilteo officials.

    A few practical notes for residents who want to attend:

    • The bridge will not be open to vehicles during the celebration. You can approach the bridge from either side — Everett or Mukilteo — but you cannot drive across it Monday afternoon. Vehicle traffic resumes Tuesday.
    • You can walk across. That’s the entire point of the event. Pedestrians are welcome to cross the bridge during the celebration window.
    • Project staff will be available to answer questions. If you’ve ever wanted to know how the seismic upgrades work, why the bike lanes are configured the way they are, or what’s coming next on the Mukilteo Boulevard corridor — Monday is your shot.
    • Some finishing work continues after opening. Permanent roadway striping, barriers, lighting and paint may still need to be completed in the days and weeks after the bridge reopens. Drivers should expect occasional lane shifts or short closures during off-peak hours.

    The celebration is free and open to the public. No tickets, no RSVP, no formal program — just the chance to walk across before the cars take over again.

    Why a Community Walk Across the Bridge Is Worth Doing

    Bridge openings don’t usually get a public celebration. Most ribbon-cuttings happen at 10 a.m. on a weekday with a few elected officials and a press release.

    This one is different for a few reasons.

    The closure was long and disruptive. Everett residents who use Mukilteo Boulevard, the Boeing employees who rely on it for commuting, and Mukilteo neighbors who route through Everett have been living with detours for the better part of a year and a half. The detour pushed traffic onto other corridors, slowed commutes, and meaningfully reshuffled neighborhood traffic patterns.

    The bridge is a significant piece of regional infrastructure. The Edgewater Bridge is one of the key connection points between the City of Everett and the City of Mukilteo, and it carries one of the more scenic stretches of road in the region. The new structure includes seismic upgrades, dedicated bike lanes, and improved pedestrian infrastructure that the previous bridge didn’t have.

    Most of the cost was federally funded. The roughly $34 million replacement project was approximately 80 percent federally funded, meaning the bulk of the bill was carried by federal transportation dollars rather than Everett’s general fund or local taxpayers directly. Public events like Monday’s are also a chance for project staff to walk residents through that funding structure and what it bought.

    Walking a new bridge before traffic opens is a one-time-only thing. Once Tuesday hits, the bridge becomes part of the daily traffic grid. Monday afternoon is the only window where a resident can experience the structure on foot, in the open air, without dodging cars.

    How the Bridge Got Here

    The Edgewater Bridge replacement project closed the original structure to traffic in 2024 to allow for full demolition and rebuild. Mukilteo Boulevard was rerouted, neighborhood traffic patterns shifted, and the timeline ran the better part of 18 months.

    The new bridge includes several upgrades over the structure it replaces:

    • Seismic resilience. The bridge was rebuilt to current seismic standards — meaningful in a region that sits on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and where post-1990s seismic codes are now the baseline for major infrastructure.
    • Bike lanes. The new bridge includes dedicated bicycle facilities that match the city’s broader plan to improve non-motorized transportation along Mukilteo Boulevard.
    • Updated pedestrian infrastructure. Crossing the bridge on foot or by bike is now meaningfully different than it was on the previous structure.
    • Drainage and structural updates that bring the bridge in line with current Washington State engineering standards.

    After the public celebration on Monday and the traffic reopening on Tuesday, the project enters its punch-list phase. Permanent roadway striping, barriers, lighting and paint may still need to be completed after the bridge is open to traffic. The city has signaled drivers may see occasional brief impacts during finishing work, but the corridor will be open to traffic.

    What Happens After the Bridge Reopens

    The Edgewater Bridge reopening is one of two big infrastructure stories on the same Mukilteo Boulevard corridor. Mukilteo Boulevard at the bridge is projected to fully reopen to traffic in April 2026, weather permitting — meaning the entire corridor, not just the bridge structure itself, returns to normal operation.

    Once the bridge and corridor are both open, expect the traffic patterns that have been displaced for 18 months to shift back. Neighborhood streets that were absorbing detour traffic should see relief. Mukilteo Boulevard itself returns to functioning as the connecting route it was before the closure. And the broader regional traffic grid between Everett and Mukilteo restores its primary connection.

    For commuters who built workarounds during the closure, it’s worth knowing the bridge will be fully open — but with finishing work continuing for at least a few weeks. Plan for occasional minor adjustments rather than perfectly normal traffic.

    How to Attend

    The celebration starts at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 27. Residents can approach the bridge from either the Everett or Mukilteo side. Pedestrian access is open during the event window; vehicle access is not. The bridge officially reopens to vehicle traffic on Tuesday, April 28, at the end of the workday.

    For project information, visit the City of Everett’s Edgewater Bridge Replacement Project page at everettwa.gov.

    This is the first time most Everett and Mukilteo residents will set foot on the new bridge. After Monday, most of us will only experience it through a windshield.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When is the Edgewater Bridge community celebration? Monday, April 27, 2026, at 3:30 p.m.

    When does the bridge reopen to traffic? Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the end of the workday.

    Can I drive across the bridge during the celebration? No. The bridge will not be open to vehicle traffic on Monday during the celebration. Pedestrian access only that afternoon. Vehicles return Tuesday.

    Where do I park to attend the celebration? The city has not announced dedicated event parking. Residents should plan to use street parking near either approach to the bridge — on the Everett side along Mukilteo Boulevard, or from the Mukilteo side near the existing approach. Plan to walk a short distance.

    Is the celebration free? Yes. Free, open to the public, no tickets or RSVP required.

    Will Mayor Franklin be there? Officials from both Everett and Mukilteo are expected to deliver brief remarks at the celebration.

    How much did the bridge cost, and who paid for it? The replacement project came in around $34 million, with approximately 80 percent of the cost covered by federal transportation funding. The remaining share was covered through state and local sources.

    What changed about the new bridge versus the old one? The new bridge includes seismic upgrades, dedicated bike lanes, and improved pedestrian infrastructure — none of which existed on the previous structure.

    Will the entire Mukilteo Boulevard corridor be open after April 28? Yes. Mukilteo Boulevard at the bridge is projected to reopen to traffic in April 2026, weather permitting. Some finishing work — striping, lighting, painting — will continue afterward but should not cause major traffic disruptions.

  • Everett’s Lenora Stormwater Treatment Facility Breaks Ground This Month: A $8.7M Snohomish River Cleanup Project Quietly Starts in Lowell

    Everett’s Lenora Stormwater Treatment Facility Breaks Ground This Month: A $8.7M Snohomish River Cleanup Project Quietly Starts in Lowell

    Q: What is the Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility, and when does construction start?

    A: It is a $8.73 million regional stormwater treatment facility being built in April 2026 on city-owned property at the corner of Lenora Street and S 1st Avenue in Lowell, adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park. Funded primarily by a Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality grant, it will treat runoff from 146 acres of Lowell drainage before it discharges into the Marshland Canal and the Snohomish River — removing total suspended solids, dissolved copper and zinc, oil and total phosphorus.

    While most of Everett’s construction conversation in April 2026 has been about a $120 million stadium and 300 new waterfront apartments, an $8.73 million project starts this month on a half-acre lot in Lowell that will quietly do more for the Snohomish River than any other capital project the city is funding right now.

    The Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility breaks ground in April 2026. It is one of the projects nobody will livestream and nobody will design-render, and it is exactly the kind of work that determines whether Everett’s waterfront stays swimmable, fishable, and credible as a sustainability story over the next decade.

    Where it is and what it does

    The site is small — 11,944 square feet, 0.27 acres — at the northeast corner of the S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street intersection, immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park, on the west side of the BNSF railroad tracks. If you have ever parked at the Lowell Riverfront Trail to walk the dog, you have driven past it without noticing.

    The facility’s job is to take stormwater runoff from three drainage subbasins in Lowell — known to city staff as LW-9, LW-10 and LW-11, totaling 146.10 acres — and run it through a treatment train before it ever reaches the Marshland Canal system, which discharges into the Snohomish River.

    The first phase of the facility is a five-cell Filterra Bioscape system with two of the five cells fully functional at opening. That gives the city a phased path to scale up treatment capacity as the surrounding subbasins develop further.

    What gets removed from the runoff

    The contaminants the Lenora facility is designed to capture are the standard menu of urban stormwater pollutants:

    • Total suspended solids (TSS) — particulate matter that clouds water and smothers spawning gravel.
    • Total petroleum hydrocarbons — oil and fuel runoff from streets, driveways, and parking lots.
    • Dissolved copper — primarily from vehicle brake pads. Copper is acutely toxic to juvenile salmon at very low concentrations.
    • Dissolved zinc — from tire wear, galvanized metal, and roofing.
    • Total phosphorus — the driver of summer algae blooms downstream.

    The Marshland Canal eventually discharges to the Snohomish River, which means everything the facility removes is something that does not enter the river — and does not enter Possession Sound or any of the salmon habitat between Lowell and the river mouth.

    The funding story

    The project is funded primarily by the Washington State Department of Ecology under Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement WQC-2025-EverPW-00177, in the amount of $8,733,920. That is roughly the entire project cost, which is why the City of Everett can deliver an $8.7M facility without putting it on the local utility bill.

    For Everett residents already absorbing the proposed $10.74-per-month utility tax hike going through council right now, the Lenora project is the rare piece of stormwater infrastructure that does not show up on your bill at all. The state Ecology grant covers it.

    Why Lowell needed this

    Lowell is one of Everett’s most environmentally complex neighborhoods. It sits on a low riverfront bench between the Snohomish River and the BNSF tracks, with three small subbasins draining toward the Marshland Canal. The geography means stormwater from streets, parking lots, and roofs throughout the neighborhood concentrates fast and hits the river hard during rain events.

    The 146 acres covered by the Lenora facility include a mix of residential, commercial, and rail-adjacent uses. That mix is exactly the kind of urban runoff cocktail that does the most damage to salmon habitat, because dissolved copper from brake pads and dissolved zinc from tire wear behave like concentrated toxins for juvenile fish even at very low concentrations. Removing those before they reach the river is the difference between a healthy salmon return and a steady decline.

    What it means for the Lowell Riverfront Trail

    The construction site is immediately adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park, which means anyone using the Lowell Riverfront Trail this spring and summer should expect periodic construction activity, equipment staging, and possible short trail detours along the affected segment near S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street. The city’s Public Works department will post detour signage if any trail closures become necessary.

    The good news for trail users: the facility is going on a small footprint at the edge of the park, not inside it. The trail itself stays intact. Once the facility opens, the only visible change at the site will be the Filterra system’s surface elements — bioretention cells, a small access path, and a city interpretive sign that the Public Works department typically installs at completed water quality projects.

    How this fits Everett’s bigger stormwater picture

    Everett operates under a state-issued NPDES Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit. Among other things, that permit requires the city to identify high-priority drainage areas and progressively install treatment infrastructure that meets state water quality standards. The Stormwater Management Action Plan (SMAP) the city has been refining for several years identifies the Lowell subbasins as priorities precisely because they discharge directly to a salmon-bearing waterway with limited dilution.

    The Lenora facility is one of the more visible deliverables of that plan. It is also a piece of evidence that the regulatory machinery — state grant funding, federal water quality standards, city capital planning — can still produce concrete infrastructure on the ground in 2026, even when the larger civic conversation is about $14 million budget gaps and $120 million stadiums.

    The construction window

    The city has scheduled construction to begin in April 2026. Work on the facility itself is small enough that the duration is measured in months, not years. Public Works has not published a precise opening date for the first two functional cells of the Filterra system, but the project’s small footprint and the simple construction sequence point toward a late-2026 functional opening, with the remaining three cells brought online as the surrounding subbasins develop.

    Why we wrote about this one

    Most of Everett’s construction tracker right now reads like a developer brochure — apartments, restaurants, a stadium, a movie theater. That coverage is real and important. But the Lenora facility is a useful counterweight: a small, technical, state-funded piece of infrastructure that does not generate Instagram content but quietly determines whether the river the rest of the waterfront story sits next to actually stays healthy.

    Lowell residents in particular should know it is happening. The half-acre lot at S 1st and Lenora is going to look like a construction site for the next several months, and the trail-adjacent staging will be visible from the river. The reason for the disruption is also the reason it is worth it.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is the Lenora Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility being built?
    On a 0.27-acre, 11,944-square-foot city-owned lot at the northeast corner of S 1st Avenue and Lenora Street in Lowell, immediately west of the BNSF railroad tracks and adjacent to Lowell Riverfront Park.

    When does construction start?
    April 2026.

    How much does the project cost?
    $8,733,920, funded primarily by a Washington State Department of Ecology Water Quality Combined Financial Assistance Agreement (WQC-2025-EverPW-00177).

    What does the facility actually do?
    It treats stormwater runoff from 146.10 acres of Lowell drainage (subbasins LW-9, LW-10, LW-11) before that runoff discharges into the Marshland Canal and the Snohomish River. It removes total suspended solids, oil and total petroleum hydrocarbons, dissolved copper, dissolved zinc and total phosphorus.

    Who pays for it?
    Almost the entire project cost is covered by a Washington State Department of Ecology grant. Everett ratepayers do not see the project on their utility bill.

    What kind of treatment system is it?
    A five-cell Filterra Bioscape system, with two cells fully functional at opening and three more available for buildout as the surrounding subbasins develop.

    Will the Lowell Riverfront Trail be affected?
    The project site is adjacent to the trail. Trail users should expect occasional construction activity and possible short trail detours during the construction window. Permanent trail alignment will not change.

    Why does this matter for the Snohomish River?
    Dissolved copper and zinc from urban runoff are toxic to juvenile salmon at very low concentrations. Removing those pollutants before they hit the river is one of the highest-impact things a city can do for downstream salmon habitat.

    📚 The Exploring Everett Knowledge Cluster

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  • What Everett’s $14 Million Budget Gap Means for Your Property Tax Bill, City Services, and 2026 Ballot

    What Everett’s $14 Million Budget Gap Means for Your Property Tax Bill, City Services, and 2026 Ballot

    Q: As an Everett resident, what should I expect from the 2027 budget process?

    A: Expect at least one budget-related ballot measure in November 2026, possibly more than one. The most likely options include a Regional Fire Authority question, a Sno-Isle Libraries annexation question, and a property tax levy lid lift. Each affects your bill differently. Regional fire and library measures typically don’t raise your total tax bill day one — they move which government entity collects which portion. A levy lid lift directly raises the bill. Beyond ballots, expect a fall 2026 city budget process focused on whether to cut services, draw down reserves, or both, while the structural levers work through their longer timelines.

    What Everett’s $14 Million Budget Gap Means for Your Property Tax Bill, City Services, and 2026 Ballot

    If you live inside Everett city limits, the city’s $14 million 2027 budget gap is going to land on your kitchen table in three specific ways: the property tax bill that arrives in your mailbox, the services you rely on (police response times, library hours, parks staffing, road maintenance), and the ballot you receive in October 2026. This guide walks through each.

    What’s Likely on Your November 2026 Ballot

    The Everett City Council has not yet placed any 2026 budget-related measures on the ballot, but Mayor Cassie Franklin has named four structural levers under active consideration. Three of them require voter approval. The early-August 2026 deadline to finalize ballot language gives the city a defined window to decide which questions Everett residents see on November 3.

    The most likely candidates, based on Franklin’s March 6 keynote and the April 8 Council action:

    • A Regional Fire Authority question. “Yes” would create or join a multi-jurisdictional fire and EMS district funded by its own voter-approved property tax and benefit charges. Your city tax portion drops; a new RFA portion is added. Net change to your bill on day one is usually small.
    • A Sno-Isle Libraries annexation question. “Yes” would dissolve the Everett Public Library as a city department and merge Everett into the Sno-Isle district. Your city portion drops; a new Sno-Isle library portion is added. Library service continues.
    • A property tax levy lid lift. This would raise the city’s portion of your property tax above the 1 percent annual cap. The 2024 version, which voters rejected, would have added about $336 per year for the average homeowner.

    It is possible the Council places only one of these on November 2026. It is also possible it places two or three. The annexation study for the Mariner neighborhood is on a longer timeline and is not expected to produce a ballot question for current city residents in 2026.

    What Each Ballot Outcome Means for Your Bill

    RFA — yes: Your total property tax bill probably stays close to flat in year one. Long-term, the RFA has more flexibility to raise its own rates than the city does under the 1 percent cap.

    RFA — no: Fire stays in the city general fund. The city has to find $14 million somewhere else for 2027, which means deeper service cuts, a different ballot strategy, or both.

    Sno-Isle library annexation — yes: Same pattern as the RFA. Bill stays roughly flat. Library service continues, run by Sno-Isle.

    Sno-Isle library annexation — no: Library funding stays in the general fund. Library hours and programs are exposed to deeper cuts in 2027.

    Levy lid lift — yes: Your city tax portion goes up. The 2024 version was about $336 per year for the average Everett homeowner; a 2026 version may be smaller or paired with specific spending commitments.

    Levy lid lift — no: Same outcome as no RFA — the gap has to be closed elsewhere, primarily through service cuts.

    What Service Cuts Could Look Like

    The 2024 budget gap of $12.6 million produced 31 layoffs. The 2027 gap is bigger and the easy one-time tools the city used to soften 2026 — paused pension contributions, COVID-relief reserves — have largely been spent. If structural revenue moves don’t land in time, the 2027 budget would have to lean harder on operational reductions.

    Everett has not published a 2027 service cut menu, and the mayor’s preliminary budget is not expected until fall. Based on the 2024 reductions and the categories that show up first when cities face general-fund pressure, the areas most at risk include parks programming and maintenance, library hours, non-essential city positions, and the discretionary side of public safety budgets.

    Things state law largely protects from the same cuts: pensions, debt service, public safety baseline operations, and statutory programs. Things voters have specifically funded through dedicated levies (parks bonds, transportation, etc.) sit outside the general fund and are not at the same risk.

    Why the 2024 Lift Failed and What Could Change in 2026

    The April 2024 levy lid lift didn’t just lose. It lost decisively. Reading the result, the most-cited reasons in public reporting were the size of the increase (about $336/year for the average homeowner), the broad-purpose framing (general fund support rather than a specific program), and the cost-of-living context for a city that had absorbed back-to-back inflation years.

    If the city brings a measure back in November 2026, the most likely changes are some combination of a smaller ask, a shorter duration (rather than permanent), and tighter purpose framing — a “public safety” or “parks and libraries” levy with named funding commitments rather than a general-purpose lift. Other Washington cities have passed targeted measures after stand-alone general ones failed. That is the playbook to watch for.

    What You Can Do Between Now and November

    The Everett City Council holds public comment opportunities at every regular meeting (typically Wednesday evenings). The 2027 preliminary budget will be the focal civic conversation from September through November. Ballot questions get refined through summer and finalized in early August. The City of Everett’s budget portal at everettwa.gov publishes the projections, the budget book, and the meeting agendas.

    If you want a single window of high-leverage civic engagement on the 2027 budget, it is roughly June through early August 2026 — the period when the Council is deciding what to put on the ballot, what cuts to propose, and what the public is willing to support. After early August, the ballot is locked. After November, the result determines the structural shape of Everett’s budget for the next decade.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Will my Everett property tax bill go up in 2027?

    It depends on what the City Council decides to put on the November 2026 ballot and how voters respond. A levy lid lift would directly raise your bill. RFA or Sno-Isle library measures typically don’t raise the total day one — they shift which entity collects which portion.

    Will my city services be cut?

    If structural revenue moves don’t land in time, yes. The 2024 budget gap led to 31 layoffs; the 2027 gap is larger and the one-time tools have been used. The mayor’s preliminary 2027 budget is expected in the fall.

    Why does Everett have a $14 million deficit?

    Washington state law (Initiative 747, 2001) caps annual city property tax growth at 1 percent. City costs grow faster than that. The gap compounds over time and is now $14 million for the 2027 budget.

    What is a Regional Fire Authority and would I notice the change?

    An RFA is a separate Washington government entity that runs fire and EMS for multiple cities. You would still get fire service from what looks like the same department. The change is on funding and governance — a separate line on your tax bill instead of a slice of the city’s general fund.

    If Everett joins Sno-Isle Libraries, what happens to the Everett Public Library?

    The library buildings, staff, and programs would continue. Operations would be run by the Sno-Isle district, which already serves most of Snohomish County. Funding shifts from the city’s general fund to a separate Sno-Isle property tax line.

    Can I attend the City Council meetings on the budget?

    Yes. Council meetings are held Wednesday evenings at City Hall and are open to the public, with public comment periods. Meeting agendas are posted at everettwa.gov.

    Does the Mariner annexation affect my taxes if I already live in Everett?

    Not directly. Annexation would change tax rates for newly annexed Mariner residents, not for existing city residents. Annexation does affect the city’s overall fiscal picture, which can affect future service levels and budget choices.