Reopening of Lowell-Snohomish River Road pushed back

Published 11:51 am Thursday, September 17, 2026

EVERETT — The Washington State Department of Transportation will extend the ongoing closure of the Lowell-Snohomish River Road until Sept. 30 due to longer-than-expected construction times, the department announced Wednesday.

The road, which was closed off to drivers entirely on Aug. 17 for construction work on a new bridge for Highway 9 traveling over the Snohomish River, was originally expected to reopen on Wednesday. (Local access remains available for residents and businesses along the road).

But some of the planned work on the new bridge is taking longer than anticipated, wrote Marcus Humberg, a department spokesperson.

“Since a crane is necessary for this work, the road remains closed while crews finish installing these shaft casings and other critical components for the new bridge,” Humberg wrote. “Crews are working as quickly as possible, including extended hours and weekends to finish the work and reopen the road.”

The road, which connects Everett to downtown Snohomish, closed as construction crews began installing new girders and started constructing two new bridge piers in the Snohomish River as part of a $142 million project to widen Highway 9. The project, adding a new bridge and upgrading the existing one that crosses the river, will allow for two travel lanes in both the northbound and southbound directions.

The Department of Transportation took on the project to alleviate traffic jams on the highway. It was once a rural two-lane road but now serves as a major thoroughfare for Snohomish County residents on the east side of the U.S. 2 trestle that sees congestion during peak hours, according to WSDOT.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.