Centennial Trail link completed in Snohomish

A postcard view of a Northern Pacific train and an Interurban car crossing paths in Snohomish, postmarked 1914.

Great news: The Everett Herald reports that the Centennial Trail is one step closer to completion with the opening of a two-thirds of a mile stretch in downtown Snohomish.

The city will celebrate starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Third Street, near the Snohomish Library, with guest speakers, a small health fair and an opportunity for people to walk or ride the trail section. At 10 a.m. city officials will participate in an official dedication ceremony.

Snohomish spent the past 15 years working on acquiring property, repaving the trail and doing landscape work to connect the city's two-thirds of a mile trail to the existing Centennial Trail, project manager Ann Stanton said. 

"It's good to see the former Indian trail return to a walking trail after 120 years as a railroad corridor," Stanton said. 

The city had to buy land from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and also paid for surveys. The city had help with only paying about $100,000 of the $2.5 million project, with the rest coming from federal funds, Stanton said.  (Source: The Herald)

With the completion of the Snohomish gap, 21 of the 27 miles of Centennial Trail are now accessible — the last leg of the project, getting underway this summer, is filling the gap between Bryant (north of Arlington) and the Skagit County line.