 Sept. 20, 2024
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Happy last week of summer!
Starting next week no one can make fun of me for drinking pumpkin spice lattes. Make sure to follow us for roadway updates and download our app to plan your drive.
We've got winter weather on our minds. This week we attended a Skagit County Currents Conditions meeting in preparation for the upcoming Flood Week. We gathered with our partner agencies to start coordinating our efforts for winter conditions. We are doing our part to prepare and now we need you to do you part. You can start by doing your seasonal vehicle prep. We'll start sharing more fall and winter resources in the coming week, stay tuned!
P.S. if you're headed to or going through Seattle this weekend plan ahead for closures and event traffic. Give yourself extra time or take the light rail from the new stop in Lynnwood.
 Besties, the temporary intersection configuration is coming to an end soon. The one where our contractor crews removed the old, compact roundabout and install a new, larger, two-lane roundabout on Slater Road between Rural Avenue and I-5. The next step is to close the on and off ramps to work on installing the new roundabouts.
- Beginning Thursday, Sept. 24, you should expect a continuous two-week closure of the southbound I-5 on- and off-ramps at Slater Road. Signed detours will guide people around the ramp closures.
- During the weeknights, you should expect single-lane closures on Slater Road between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. throughout until construction completes in early 2025.
People traveling in this area should plan extra time and expect delays.
Crews are realigning the southbound I-5 off-ramp to Slater Rd for the new roundabout, which requires adding more dirt. On Monday night alone, 2,000 tons of dirt was placed with more dirt added throughout this last week to build up the ramp embankments. The new alignment is to support the new, larger roundabout.
Southbound I-5 to Slater Road off-ramp detour map
 Slater Road to southbound I-5 on-ramp detour map
 Mission accomplished! Maintenance crews finished the Saar Creek bank stabilization project on SR 547/Reese Hill Road in Sumas. Thanks for your patience this week! Great work to our maintenance crews. Oh, how I love a good progress series, check those before and after photos.
It's likely you’ve visited at least one of Washington’s 47 safety rest areas in your lifetime – and some of you may be regular users during your statewide travels.
Our safety rest areas provide a valuable service to the 24 million people who use them each year by giving the traveling public, commuters and freight haulers a place to stop and rest for a short period of time. This reduces drowsy driving and serves communities throughout the state by supporting the flow of goods and services, tourism and recreation.
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 On average, our sites are around 47 years old, with construction dates varying from 1967-2011. If they were people, many would be planning for retirement by now. And, just like people with creaky knees, our rest areas are showing their years of wear and tear.
Learn more about what’s going on behind-the-scenes on our blog.
We often have special events and roadwork taking place in the Northend, including construction projects, maintenance and repairs. We always try to minimize any effects to travel, but sometimes it is necessary to close a lane to do the work or create a safe work zone for our crews.
While we aren't doing a lot of roadwork this week, our crews will still be out monitoring and keeping the roads safe. If you spot them, slow down and give them space to work! A huge thanks to our crews for all their hard work through the holidays.
Want more information? Visit our real time travel center, where these projects and repairs can be found on our travel map, and download our app to receive alerts directly to your smartphone.
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Sunday, Sept. 22 to Friday, Sept. 27
- Nightly from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22 to Friday morning, Sept. 27, construction crews will have intermittent single lane closures on both directions of Interstate 5 near North Lake Samish (milepost 246) south of Bellingham in support of the I-5 Friday Lake and Chuckanut Creek fish passage barrier removal project. The North Lake Samish on-ramp to northbound I-5 and the North Lake Samish off-ramp from southbound I-5 will have short term closures.
Monday, Sept. 23 to Friday, Sept. 27
- Daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., PSE crews will intermittently alternate traffic on State Route 542/Mount Baker Highway in Bellingham between Britton Road (milepost 2) and Van Wyck Road (milepost 4) for utility work.
- Nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday, Sept. 23 to Friday morning, Sept. 27, maintenance crews will close the southbound Interstate 5 off-ramp to Samish Way (milepost 252) in Bellingham in support of a City of Bellingham road paving project.
Thursday, Sept. 26 to Tuesday, Oct. 1
- From 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 to 6 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, construction crews will close the southbound Interstate 5 on-ramp from Slater Road in Ferndale for the I-5/Slater Road interchange roundabout project.
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