Slower speed required on this I-5 detour in Bellingham
Drivers on southbound Interstate 5 through Fairhaven will see a detour and reduced speed starting this week as work continues on a project that will allow salmon to swim under the freeway easier as they head upstream to spawn.
Work crews will be replacing a bridge over Padden Creek near Old Fairhaven Parkway, exit 250, the Washington State Department of Transportation said in an emailed statement.
Both lanes of southbound traffic will shift to a half-mile detour starting at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 13, and continue for about a month, WSDOT said.
“This shift allows crews to have a safe work zone to construct a new bridge on southbound I-5, which is part of the full replacement of the exiting box culvert at Padden Creek,” WSDOT said.
WSDOT has been replacing culverts across Whatcom County and the entire state, partly in response to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the state was obligated by treaty with Northwest tribes to restore stream flows that have been restricted by culverts built under state roads and highways.
Speed limit in the detour area will be lowered to 40 mph from the normal 60 mph.
After work on the southbound bridge over Padden Creek in mid-July, work will shift to the northbound lanes.
Work on I-5 at Padden Creek will continue until fall of 2022, WSDOT said.
