 June 14, 2026
 Crews finished repairs and fully reopened State Route 20/North Cascades Highway on Sunday, June 14.
We fully reopened State Route 20/North Cascades Highway in both directions Sunday, June 14, after two emergency repair projects completed work. The June 14 opening matches 1974 for the latest opening of the scenic seasonal highway since we began keeping records in 1972. But Sunday’s opening comes nearly three weeks before the Fourth of July, which was the goal we set for fully reopening North Cascades Highway in early May.
Before Sunday, a section of SR 20 between Ross Dam Trailhead (milepost 134) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156) remained closed after North Cascades Highway partially reopened from the east side April 30. This section of highway was severely damaged in several areas by washouts in December 2025.
Skagit County contractors Trimaxx Construction Inc. and Interwest Construction Inc. each worked seven days a week and completed their emergency contracts in fewer than the allowable working days.
Making repairs
Interwest stabilized a slope with more than 1,000 lineal feet of steel rock dowels and removed more than 2,500 cubic yards of debris from a rockslide that occurred in March near Diablo Lake (milepost 131). That work finished May 30, allowing us to move the west side closure point to milepost 134 and restore access to popular recreational opportunities at Diablo Lake Vista Point and Ross Dam Trailhead.
Since May 13, Trimaxx focused on repairing washout damage along SR 20 between Canyon Creek Trailhead and the Granite Creek vicinity (mileposts 142-148). Necessary repairs along this 6-mile section of highway included:
- Rebuilding washed out embankment that supported the highway at three locations
- Repairing and repaving more than 1,000 feet of highway that was undermined or collapsed
- Restoring about 2 miles of damaged or collapsed asphalt shoulder and about 3 miles of eroded ditch line
- Replacing more than 1,000 feet of damaged guardrail and concrete barrier
- Clearing and repairing 15 damaged or buried culverts
- Using mulch and seeding for erosion control on rebuilt slopes
- Installing pavement markings and striping
What to expect
Though repairs have finished, Trimaxx will continue to remove construction equipment from the area the next few days. Watch for workers removing heavy construction equipment from the area, but this should not affect traffic.
Also, please watch for for wildlife, which is not used to vehicles traveling at highway speed limits through the area. Workers have reported many deer and bear sightings, many with young, on or near the roadway. It will take them a while to transition to North Cascades Highway being fully open.
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 Maintenance crews opened the final 2.7 miles of SR 542/Mount Baker Highway, also known as the Road to Artist Point, for the summer season on Wednesday, June. 10.
Just in time for weekend activities, the final 2.7 miles of State Route 542/Mount Baker Highway — also known as the Road to Artist Point — reopened for the season Wednesday morning, June 10. Since late May, our maintenance crews have removed as much as 20 feet of snow covering the highway and the Artist Point parking lot.
Many of the trails accessed from Artist Point remain under deep snow, and most signs with directional maps are still unavailable. Vault toilets and garbage cans are available at Artist Point. People should plan for limited cell service and pack extra emergency supplies.
It is unknown when the U.S. Forest Service’s Heather Meadows Visitor Center will open for the season. You will need the appropriate recreational pass for use of the area. Travelers should still expect to see maintenance and U.S. Forest Service crews working along SR 542, as they continue to maintain the road through the season.
After it reopens each summer, approximately 650 vehicles travel to Artist Point per day. Nearly 40,000 people visit the Glacier Public Service Center throughout the year to get the required permits and check weather conditions ahead of their outdoor adventures.
In 2025, crews opened the Road to Artist Point on June 27 and closed it on Oct. 15.
 The SR 536 Skagit River/Division Street Bridge was closed to eastbound traffic on Thursday, June 11. It will remain closed during a project to repaint and preserve the bridge.
We closed the SR 536 Skagit River/Division Street Bridge to eastbound traffic on Thursday night, June 11. It will remain closed through the duration of a project to repaint the historic bridge, which is expected to finish construction in early next year before the start of the 2027 Skagit Tulip Festival.
If you are traveling eastbound from West Mount Vernon, you will need to detour using northbound Avon Allen Road, eastbound SR 20 and southbound Interstate 5. People coming from the Anacortes or Oak Harbor areas should continue on eastbound SR 20 to southbound I-5, and people coming from LaConner should also use alternate routes. Please add time to your travel plans if you are coming from the west side of the Skagit River during the closure.
The bridge will remain open for westbound traffic coming from downtown Mount Vernon through most of the project, and no additional delays are expected. The bridge also will remain open for pedestrians, bicyclists and people using mobility devices in both directions for most of the project.
Emergency responders still will be able to use the bridge in both directions throughout the project using traffic signal prioritization switches that will signal temporary traffic signals to hold traffic while emergency vehicles cross the bridge.
To protect the Skagit River from paint and other debris during construction and give the bridge its first new coat of paint since 1990, crews will install a containment system around the structure. To create room for the containment system, SR 536/West Division Street must be reduced to a single lane over the bridge.
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We’ll move both lanes of southbound I-5 onto a temporary two-lane bypass road beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, June 15, along Chuckanut Creek south of Bellingham (milepost 247). People traveling through the area between 11:59 p.m. Monday, June 15, and 5 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, should expect rolling slowdowns to allow for the shift.
Southbound I-5 will continue to use this bypass through September, while our contractor installs a new fish-passable structure beneath the southbound lanes as part of a project correcting 17 barriers to fish migration near Lake Samish.
The speed limit temporarily will reduce to 50 mph in the work area while the bypass is being used. With traffic off southbound I-5, crews will excavate the roadbed, remove the old culvert, install a new fish-passable structure and rebuild the permanent southbound I-5 lanes.
Northbound I-5 also will move onto its own temporary two-lane bypass. The date of that shift will be announced once it is scheduled.
People traveling along eastbound and westbound SR 20 should watch for a permanent speed limit reduction along a 4-mile stretch in Skagit County from Sharpes Corner to Pass Lake north of Deception Pass.
The permanent speed has been reduced from 50 mph to 45 mph along both directions of SR 20 between mileposts 43.52 and 47.8. The decision to reduce the speed limit was made in response to community safety concerns and after a review of speed and collision data in the corridor. The new 45 mph speed limit became enforceable as soon as the signs were installed.
We worked closely with the Samish Indian Nation after the tribe requested the speed limit change through the area. The permanent speed reduction includes the SR 20 intersection with Campbell Lake Road, where we’ll work with the Samish Indian Nation and Skagit County to build a roundabout beginning later this summer.
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 A new roundabout will be built at the SR 546/Benson Road intersection during a six-day closure of the intersection scheduled for June 21-27.
A project that continues recent efforts to improve safety along SR 546/East Badger Road north of Lynden begins Thursday, June 18, as construction of a compact roundabout at the Benson Road intersection gets underway.
This will be the fourth roundabout we’ve built along the corridor. The construction timeline will be shorter than recent intersection improvement projects along SR 546 at Depot, Bender and Northwood roads. The new Benson Road roundabout is expected to be finished in mid-July, provided weather cooperates.
Our contractor will complete most of construction during a six-day, full closure of the SR 546/Benson Road intersection scheduled to begin Sunday, June 21. Crews performed construction at the Depot, Bender and Northwood locations while alternating traffic through the intersections, which extended those construction timeframes.
What to expect
From Sunday, June 21, through Saturday, June 27, the SR 546/Benson Road intersection will close to all traffic. You still will have access to homes and businesses in the area, including the PeaceHealth Lynden Clinic and Kulshan Veterinary Hospital, but you may need to use different routes to reach their destinations during the closure.
Passenger vehicles will follow a signed detour using Main Street and Depot Road and can also take Pangborn Road north of the intersection. Freight traffic should detour using SR 539/Guide Meridian, SR 544/East Pole Road and SR 9/Nooksack Avenue during the six-day closure.
Just in time for international soccer matches, traveling into the United States from Canada on Amtrak Cascades trains will be a little easier — and quicker.
Beginning June 8, Amtrak Cascades passenger trains connecting Vancouver, British Columbia, with 18 stations in western Washington and Oregon began offering streamlined customs inspections for passengers traveling into the U.S.
Under a “preclearance” designation, trains no longer need to stop in Blaine for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to board and conduct a second review of declaration cards, luggage and carry-on items.
The preclearance designation allows those seeking entry to the U.S. to be cleared through customs at locations outside of the United States. Previously, this has only occurred at airports, not at train stations. Canada’s Pacific Central Station in Vancouver becomes the first rail station in North America with the designation.
Check out our news release for more details on the preclearance program.
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.
If you spot our crews, slow down and give them space to work! A huge thanks to our crews for all their hard work.
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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Whatcom County
State Route 9
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Nugents Corner to South Pass Road (mileposts 84 to 90) for a paving project.
State Route 542
- Eastbound and westbound traffic will alternate from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly Sunday, June 14, through Thursday morning, June 18, near First Street (milepost 13) in Deming for utility work.
- Eastbound and westbound traffic will alternate from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, June 15-17, and from 7 a.m. to noon Thursday, June 18, between Casey Road and Cornell Creek Road (mileposts 23-31) for utility work.
- Eastbound and westbound traffic will alternate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, June 15-18, in Glacier (mileposts 33-34) for soil sampling for an upcoming project.
State Route 547
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 9 p.m. Thursday, June 18, to 5 a.m. Friday, June 19, near Reese Hill Road for utility work.
Skagit County
Interstate 5
- The left lane of northbound and southbound I-5 will close from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly Sunday, June 14, through Thursday morning, June 18, near Alger/Lake Samish Road (mileposts 240-242) for fish passage construction.
State Route 9
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate using a temporary traffic signal until further notice over the Lake Creek Bridge (milepost 43).
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly Monday, June 15, through Friday morning, June 19, at Gunderson Road (milepost 50) for utility work.
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, over the Skagit River Bridge (mileposts 54-55) for bridge inspection.
Island County
State Route 525
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, north of Smugglers Cove Road (milepost 26) for guardrail repair.
- Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, near Chase Lake (milepost 21) for guardrail repair.
Northern Snohomish County
State Route 530
- Eastbound and westbound traffic will alternate from 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, to 5 a.m. Thursday, June 18, near 103rd Avenue Northeast (milepost 24) for utility work.
David Rasbach
WSDOT communications
david.rasbach@wsdot.wa.gov
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