LYNNWOOD—After more than two decades of planning, tens of millions of dollars, and five Mayors later, the City of Lynnwood finally broke ground on one of its most awaited (and highly prioritized projects) – the Poplar Way Bridge – on Wednesday, April 8.
Lynnwood’s Poplar Way Bridge will be an arterial bridge connecting Poplar Way/196th Street Southwest to 33rd Avenue West, traveling over Interstate 5, providing a much-needed solution to decongest traffic within the City Center by offering an additional multimodal alternative in, and out, of the city’s downtown core.
The nearly $60 million bridge will span 600 feet in length, have six vehicle lanes, sidewalks and bike facilities (the multimodal portion), and integrate into the nearby Interurban Trail via grade-separated crossing.
Lynnwood’s City Center Access Study identified the project as the most significant solution for congestion relief along 196th Street Southwest around Alderwood Mall and will be a pivotal infrastructure improvement for the city’s plan to absorb, and foster, growth in the region.
However, the project has hit quite a few hurdles over the years, since its original 2004 planning and preliminary engineering phase (though discussions began in the 1990’s), most related to its whopping price tag. Most of the funding was secured thanks to Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-01), and Suzane DelBene (WA-01), and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) – who collectively reeled in approximately $37.2 million of its total cost through a $25 million RAISE grant via the U.S. Department of Transportation, and $5.5 million in the Federal Surface Transportation Block grant (through the Puget Sound Regional Council).
Other key funding sources include about $10 million from the State’s Move Ahead Washington program, $5 million from the State Transportation Improvement Board, and $1.5 million during the last legislative session.
At the state level, supporters of the project include Representatives Jesse Solomon, Cindy Ryu, and Lauren Davis.
Wednesday’s ceremony commenced with Lynnwood’s new City Clerk Nathan MacDonald who thanked Lynnwood Compassion Center and Alderwood Community Church for offering up the space for the event, before inviting Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst to the podium to share a few words.
Mayor Hurst ruminated on his time in public service, and how it lined up with the Poplar Way Bridge projects 20+ years of development, from sitting on the Planning Commission in 2012 when the project began its design phase, and serving his first term on City Council in 2016 when the project completed its final design.
Now, as Mayor serving his first term, he is witnessing the golden shovels hit the soil after a decades long process and plans to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony when the project reaches completion by 2028.
“This project has been with me my entire span of public service in Lynnwood. I just would like to say and remind you that Lynnwood is an economic force in Snohomish County. Just from this point alone you can see a lot of our retail, we have new housing, and if you look over the hill, you’ll see the light rail,” said Mayor Hurst. “But with this comes the constant need to create and maintain infrastructure to keep our city moving, whether by wheel or by foot. And the Poplar Bridge will not only alleviate traffic congestion, but it’s going to connect our community in many ways. It’s going to do it all.”
Following Mayor Hurst, Public Works Director Jared Bond share a few remarks (and corny jokes) of his own, offering up his gratitude to his predecessor – Bill Franz – as well as the City Engineer David Mach for all their hard work.
“They’ve been a constant on this for the last several years and they really are responsible for bringing this project home. And here we are in 2026, we’re finally breaking ground. This moment is a testament to the persistence and dedication of so many people who never lost sight of this vision,” said Bond.
Tackling the construction of the project is Kuney Construction, and speaking on behalf of the firm was Max Kuney who followed Bond with a short, but pointed, speech joking that “as a contractor I like to finish ahead of schedule.”
“We just want to thank the amazing teamwork and collaboration that went on for years in order to bring this project to fruition and we’re happy to continue that teamwork and collaboration with the city to get it built,” said Kuney. “We’ve got a great team and project manager Brandon Moore, and project superintendent Josh Land, and some great subs. Basically we’re looking forward to getting to work and it is done as quickly as possible.”
A spokesperson speaking on behalf of Senator Maria Cantwell (who was unable to attend in person) then read the following remarks:
“I am incredibly proud to have partnered with the city on this project and to help them secure a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, grant program,” wrote Cantwell. “Big infrastructure investments like this make our regional economy stronger and more resilient, and this project is a testament to your local leaders here in Lynnwood who continue to fight for federal dollars to bring back here to South Snohomish County.”
Up next was Representative Rick Larsen – also a key federal champion for the project who first heard about it about 15 years ago.
“I’ve always said you can’t have a big-league economy with little league infrastructure. And this will help build a big-league infrastructure here in Lynnwood. Building this Poplar Way bridge will unlock jobs, it will unlock economic growth for Lynnwood, and as a top Democrat on what we call the T&I Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I’ll keep fighting to fund transformational investments in local infrastructure like this one,” said Larsen.
Others in attendance included Lynnwood City Council President Nick Coelho and Council Vice President Derica Escamilla.
“It’s an exciting moment to see something that’s been a dream become a vision, become a plan that gets executed. It takes all the way from local to federal to make things happen. To come to a groundbreaking to hear it took more than a decade, and multiple mayors, to make it happen just brings me pride – to see it happen,” said Councilwoman Escamilla.
When the Poplar Way Bridge reaches completion in 2028, it is expected to carry approximately 30,000 vehicles per day while allowing the residents of South Lynnwood to gain easier access to Alderwood Mall more efficiently and safely and reduce congestion on I-5 for motorists using the 196th exit.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
