No Detour Ahead
I just learned the roadwork between Camano Island and the mainland that’s been going on for months isn’t actually a tunnel bypassing Stanwoodopolis like I’d hoped. Imagine — if you can — our disappointment down here on the ferryless South End. Another few decades of stop-and-go through the town that thinks of us basically as Trespassers. We cause the rush hour traffic jams, we crowd their stores, we clamor for art and culture when all they ask is some peace and quiet.
Used to be no stoplights or stop signs from the freeway exit to the South End. Sure, Stanwood had a Welkommen sign back then, but basically they hoped we’d keep on going over the sewer causeway and on to the Mark Clark bridge. If you stopped for gas or groceries, they weren’t particularly friendly. You were tolerated, but just barely. I always noticed a Welkommen sign wasn’t put up for those of us coming back. And we were all, unfortunately, coming back.
Times change, of course, and now there’s 5 stop light through Stanwood Town, 2 more than the island. Times might change, but not the Attitude so much. The big chains are friendly, but the old retail, good luck. Most of us South Enders keep on going. Mt. Vernon, Everett, Smokey Point. Those 5 stoplights about double the driving time.
So when that roadwork started digging down I saw my dream finally coming true: a tunnel under Stanwoodopolis, a subterranean bypass. A Big Dig. A win-win. For us and the fiercely independent tribesmen of Stanwoodopolis. Now those pretty dreams are dashed. The road isn’t descending, it’s rising. Down in Seattle and Gomorrah, Big Bertha’s broken and their dig is deferred indefinitely. No doubt this is why we won’t get our tunnel — the drilling machine won’t be available for who knows how long. My lifetime, I’m figuring. And probably 5 more stoplights.
Hits: 196