The release of the Senate Transportation budget on Tuesday revealed the vast improvements coming to the roads and bridges in the 44^th Legislative District.

Headlining the package is the allocation of $650,000 for advance preliminary and geotechnical engineering on the Snohomish River Bridge on State Route 9. The preliminary work will put in place a plan to widen the bridge.

Approximately 27,000 vehicles use the bridge each day and that number is expected to increase as the population continues to grow. The density of traffic has made the bridge a congested bottle neck during peak travel times and in desperate need of widening.

Sen. Steve Hobbs, who represents the 44th, also went to bat to improve the Getchell Road intersection at SR 9 and 84^th St. NE. The project is located on the northern border of his district and Hobbs said the improvements were a necessity.

“My job is to represent the best interests of the people in my district, but those interests aren’t always contained completely within the borders of the 44^th,” Hobbs said. “This project will improve the well-being of the entire corridor which is why I fought for it.”

New and ongoing projects in the 44^th will be paid for through the 2005 TPA Projects account which is funded by the existing gas tax.