Smokey Point overpass bridge renamed for Arlington activist
Published on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 by Carmell EmoryRead More Local News
The November 13 celebration of the newly constructed I-5/SR 531 (172nd Street) interchange in Smokey Point carried a bittersweet tone. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) event attracted senators, representatives, local mayors and councilmembers to kick off the opening of the new on- and off-ramps and the newly paved six-lane overpass. But the family and friends of the man who spearheaded the project were sad he was not on hand to join them in the commemoration.
Oliver "Punks" Smith, an Arlington native and local community activist and leader, and an Arlington City Councilman for twenty years, was the man who rallied and fought for the WSDOT to take on this massive project back in the early 1990s. Smith recognized the growth that was going to happen in the area and saw the need for a new and expanded overpass.
After getting word that improvements to the I-5 overpass were not going to proceed due to lack of state funding, Smith decided he was not taking "no" for an answer because "he had a vision," according to his family and friends. Smith went to local business and community leaders to put together a group to combat the state's decision, calling the group TRAP, Transportation Relief Action Plan.
Becky Foster, Smokey Point resident and business owner, was one of the first to come on board.
"We went to WSDOT and they told us we would have to raise $9.5 million to help kick start the project," said Foster. "We wrote grants for government donations and received help from the county and cities."
The group ended up raising the money to fund the first phase of the project, which focused on the widening of the I-5/SR 531 interchange.
Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation, said, "this interchange was always falling to the perils of funding issues, but I want to thank the community for sticking with it. It took a couple of cities, their citizens, and the state to get this project done."
Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, supporter of the TRAP group, echoed Hammond, stating, "This would not have happened if the people and business owners in Smokey Point hadn't spoken up. Smith was a man that had a vision and he knew what was coming."
Sadly, in 2006, just a few years before the expansion of the bridge was complete, Oliver "Punks" Smith passed away before seeing the completion of the ramps.
Before he passed, TRAP unofficially named the overpass after Smith and enlisted Representative Kirk Pearson to help get a formal naming in honor of the Arlington man.
"He invested his life to being a city servant, and people like that are truly extraordinary leaders. I wish he would have been here to see this," said Pearson.
Smith's wife, Emilie, fought back tears as she thanked the people who helped her late husband, and said she was honored by the gesture of naming the bridge after him.
Although the total project is not yet complete, WSDOT has reported that it will finish six months ahead of schedule, with full completion next summer. The new overpass provides 40,000 vehicles with access to the freeway on a daily basis, ultimately relieving vehicle congestion that has increased by 15 percent in the past four years. The Arlington Park and Ride was also expanded to allow more people to use mass transit.
According to WSDOT, the state plans to invest $915 million more into Snohomish County between now and 2013. The next big projects on the calendar include the installation of concrete freeway barriers in Marysville this winter, improvements to the SR 529 Ebey Slough Bridge in 2010, and expansion of the SR 532 bridge to Camano Island to follow.
Oliver "Punks" Smith, an Arlington native and local community activist and leader, and an Arlington City Councilman for twenty years, was the man who rallied and fought for the WSDOT to take on this massive project back in the early 1990s. Smith recognized the growth that was going to happen in the area and saw the need for a new and expanded overpass.
After getting word that improvements to the I-5 overpass were not going to proceed due to lack of state funding, Smith decided he was not taking "no" for an answer because "he had a vision," according to his family and friends. Smith went to local business and community leaders to put together a group to combat the state's decision, calling the group TRAP, Transportation Relief Action Plan.
Becky Foster, Smokey Point resident and business owner, was one of the first to come on board.
"We went to WSDOT and they told us we would have to raise $9.5 million to help kick start the project," said Foster. "We wrote grants for government donations and received help from the county and cities."
The group ended up raising the money to fund the first phase of the project, which focused on the widening of the I-5/SR 531 interchange.
Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation, said, "this interchange was always falling to the perils of funding issues, but I want to thank the community for sticking with it. It took a couple of cities, their citizens, and the state to get this project done."
Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, supporter of the TRAP group, echoed Hammond, stating, "This would not have happened if the people and business owners in Smokey Point hadn't spoken up. Smith was a man that had a vision and he knew what was coming."
Sadly, in 2006, just a few years before the expansion of the bridge was complete, Oliver "Punks" Smith passed away before seeing the completion of the ramps.
Before he passed, TRAP unofficially named the overpass after Smith and enlisted Representative Kirk Pearson to help get a formal naming in honor of the Arlington man.
"He invested his life to being a city servant, and people like that are truly extraordinary leaders. I wish he would have been here to see this," said Pearson.
Smith's wife, Emilie, fought back tears as she thanked the people who helped her late husband, and said she was honored by the gesture of naming the bridge after him.
Although the total project is not yet complete, WSDOT has reported that it will finish six months ahead of schedule, with full completion next summer. The new overpass provides 40,000 vehicles with access to the freeway on a daily basis, ultimately relieving vehicle congestion that has increased by 15 percent in the past four years. The Arlington Park and Ride was also expanded to allow more people to use mass transit.
According to WSDOT, the state plans to invest $915 million more into Snohomish County between now and 2013. The next big projects on the calendar include the installation of concrete freeway barriers in Marysville this winter, improvements to the SR 529 Ebey Slough Bridge in 2010, and expansion of the SR 532 bridge to Camano Island to follow.
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