Lake Samish Road near Alger to be closed for 30 days starting July 13

A portion of Lake Samish Road near Alger will be closed for about 30 days starting July 13 to allow the state Department of Transportation to improve fish passage on unnamed tributaries to Friday Creek.

Lake Samish Road will be closed at milepost 0.88, just west of exit 240 on Interstate 5.

The state Department of Transportation will be installing new infrastructure under I-5 to improve fish passage.

The Skagit County Board of Commissioners approved the road closure Monday.

For 15 days in July, northbound and southbound traffic on Interstate 5 will be limited to one lane, according to thestate Department of Transportation project website, while the department installs the new infrastructure{span}.

The department advises travelers to expect delays during the project.

The work by the state Department of Transportation is part of alarger fish passage projectin Whatcom and north Skagit counties.

In 2025, the state Department of Transportation began work to remove 17 barriers to fish passage, and replace 10 of them with fish-passable structures.

In 2026 and 2027, the state Department of Transportation is working on fish passage projects at Chuckanut Creek, and tributaries to Friday Creek and Lake Creek.

As of June 2025, the state Department of Transportation had removed 176 culverts, mostly in Western Washington, that blocked fish passage.

In 2013, at the request of 21 northwest Washington tribes, the U.S. District Court issued an injunction that requires state agencies to repair and replace culverts that block fish passage.

Following the work on the unnamed tributaries to Friday Creek, Interstate 5 will return to two-lane travel in the fall.

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