Shoreline receives additional $1.9 million for Aurora Corridor Project from Puget Sound Regional Council

The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) has awarded Shoreline the remaining $1.9 million of City’s $7.4 million request it made in 2009 for funds from the federal government’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program. PSRC awarded $5.5 million to the City last year and the remaining $1.9 million was placed on a contingency list of projects to receive funds as they became available. The money is for the final segment of the Aurora Corridor Project running from N 192nd Street to N 205th Street.

Every two years, the PSRC is responsible for distributing federal highway and transit funds under the CMAQ program. These funds are distributed through a competitive process. CMAQ funds are available for specific categories of transportation projects and programs that improve air quality.

To date, Shoreline has received approximately $7 million in local, state and federal grants for the final segment of the Aurora Corridor Project running from N 192nd Street to N 205th Street. The total estimated cost to complete this segment ranges between $ 24 and $31 million.

The Aurora Corridor Project is the City of Shoreline’s plan to redesign and redevelop the three miles of Aurora Avenue North (State Route 99) that run through Shoreline. Shoreline’s section of Highway 99 carries about 40,000 vehicles per day and is a major transit route.

The goal of the plan is to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety, pedestrian and disabled access, vehicular capacity, traffic flow, transit speed and reliability, nighttime visibility and safety, storm water quality, economic investment potential and streetscape amenities.

Improving Aurora has been a community goal since the City of Shoreline incorporated in 1995. Shoreline completed the first mile of Aurora Corridor Project, N 145th to N 165th Streets, including the Interurban Trail Pedestrian Bridges in 2007. Construction on the second mile from N 165th to N 185th Streets began in January of this year and will be completed during the summer of 2011. The section between N 185th and N 192nd is scheduled to begin construction in early 2011.

For more information, contact Transportation Services Manager Kirk McKinley at (206) 801-2481.

--Tavia Tan