Today, a ground breaking ceremony officially announced the $19.3 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funded project that will relieve northbound I-405 traffic congestion in the greater Bothell area.

The project designs and builds a new northbound freeway lane between NE 195th Street and SR 527, where afternoon commuters face severe backups daily.

Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D—Bothell was a strong supporter of this project.

"The greater Bothell area will benefit in many ways from this project. Beyond the objective of traffic congestion relief, it provides 90 living wage construction jobs to local workers and supports other local businesses that are struggling in this tough economy," said McAuliffe.

The project is funded in part by the 2005 Washington state gas tax package, and the 2009 ARRA. The federal ARRA funding means the project will be completed three years ahead of schedule in the summer of 2010.

For more detailed information on this project, click here.