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Washington State Department of Transportation
Northwest Region – 15700 Dayton Avenue – Shoreline, WA 98133 – 206-440-4000
TRAVEL ADVISORY
April 24, 2026
Contacts: David Rasbach, communications, 360-227-0160
Jared Bentley, project engineer, 360-227-0160
Longterm closure of Old Samish Road begins Monday, April 27, south of Bellingham
BELLINGHAM – Both directions of Old Samish Road will close to through traffic beginning at 5 a.m. Monday, April 27, near Chuckanut Creek south of Bellingham.
This is a Whatcom County road that runs parallel to Interstate 5 from North Lake Samish Road (exit 246) and connects with State Route 11/Chuckanut Drive. It will remain closed until the end of the year. Local access will be permitted from the east and west to the closure points near Chuckanut Creek, but through traffic will need to use alternate routes.
During the closure, contractor crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation will remove barriers to fish migration along Chuckanut Creek as part of a project correcting 17 barriers near Lake Samish.
What to expect
Old Samish Road will be used to build a temporary two-lane bypass for southbound I-5 traffic during the spring and summer months, while crews remove a barrier to fish under southbound I-5. Northbound I-5 will use another temporary two-lane bypass while the barrier is corrected under those lanes.
Once that work finishes, southbound I-5 will return to its original alignment. Old Samish Road will remain closed to through traffic until the end of the year while a new fish passable structure is installed beneath the county road.
Installing fish passages
The new crossings near Chuckanut Creek and Old Samish Road will provide a potential habitat gain of more than a mile for coho, resident trout, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat.
In addition to WSDOT’s ongoing work to correct barriers statewide, a 2013 federal court injunction requires the state to correct barrier culverts to salmon and steelhead in western Washington.
People can find more project information about the I-5 Tributaries to Friday, Lake and Chuckanut Creeks Fish passage project by visiting an online open house.
Real-time travel information is available via the WSDOT mobile app, the WSDOT travel map or by signing up for WSDOT's email updates.
Hyperlinks within the release:
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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at wsdot.com/traffic.
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