Speed limit reduced on this dangerous stretch of highway in Whatcom County
State traffic officials are lowering the speed limit on a dangerous stretch of Everson-Goshen Road west of Everson, where the road makes a sharp turn at a school zone.
“We’ve had some bad crashes there, that whole stretch over the years has been challenging for us,” said Chief Mel Blankers of Whatcom County Fire District 1, which serves the communities of Everson and Nooksack.
DiAngelea Millar, a spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Transportation, said in an email that the speed limit on Everson-Goshen Road will be reduced from 45 mph to 35 mph from Roeder Avenue to Sable Drive.
That half-mile part of Everson-Goshen Road — officially state Highway 544 — has seen 25 crashes in the past 10 years, Millar said.
It also has a school zone with a 25 mph speed limit where it goes past Everson Elementary.
Blankers told The Bellingham Herald that current development in the area is sure to increase the number of cars on the road.
In recent years, an asphalt tanker rolled over and another wreck seriously injured three people, including a Sumas teenager.
Drivers often exceed the posted limits and can’t slow in time to make the 90-degree curve.
“As we see more and more traffic, it’s just going to continue,” Blankers said.
WSDOT spokesman Jordan Longacre said the reduced speed is the result of an 18-month engineering and traffic study conducted at the community’s request.
“Hopefully, people will be able to make quicker stops if they have to,” Longacre said.
He said officials examined speed data, highway geometry, crash history and land use and got approval from the Washington State Patrol and WSDOT headquarters in Olympia.
