MARYSVILLE — Officials recently kicked off a $2.9 million construction project that will connect 88th Street NE to Highway 9.

On Friday, Jan. 22, representatives from the city of Marysville, the Marysville School District and Naval Station Everett all took part in a ceremonial ground-breaking near the intersection of 88th Street NE and 67th Avenue NE.

Construction crews will soon begin constructing a four-lane roadway — called Ingraham Boulevard — to connect that intersection east through the Grace Creek Basin, where it will connect with 74th Drive NE.

Marysville City Engineer John Cowling opened up the short ceremony by briefly discussing the project.

“This will become a major arterial for Marysville,” he said.

Cowling’s remarks were followed by a few words from Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall, during which he thanked attendees for their work in making this project a reality.

The mayor then ushered representatives over to the west end of 88th Avenue NE to break ground.

One of the officials to help break ground was Marysville Superintendent Larry Nyland.

Nyland said in an interview that the new roadway will provide better access to the new Marysville-Getchell High School, which is currently under construction.

“It’s great to have this partnership,” Nyland said. “Kudos to the city and everybody involved. Lots of legislative work went in to getting this off the drawing board.”

The Marysville City Council awarded a $2.9 million contract to SRV Construction of Oak Harbor in December.

Approximately $2.2 million from the city’s growth management street fund will go toward the project. The city will also use a $982,737 grant from the Washington state Transportation Improvement Board.

In addition to providing a new stretch of road directly east of 88th Street NE, crews will also realign 84th Street NE to form a new intersection with Ingraham Boulevard and 82nd Avenue NE near the entrance to Marysville-Getchell High School.

Both Ingraham Boulevard and Marysville-Getchell are scheduled to be completed by September 2010.

Ingraham Boulevard is named in honor of the USS Ingraham, a guided missile frigate based at Naval Station Everett. The city adopted the ship through the U.S. Navy’s adopt-a-ship program.