Traffic Report: Fourth of July travel tips; traffic revisions in Ferndale, Lynden
With the Fourth of July holiday taking place next weekend, the Washington State Department of Transportation has created travel charts that highlight the best and worst times to travel. One of the key routes mentioned in the charts is the Interstate 5 border crossing at Blaine.
Ferndale: traffic is reduced to a single lane on Third Avenue between Vista Drive and Washington Street, near the former Cargill Ferndale Grain facility. Flaggers will be alternating traffic between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. every weekday through July 3 for work associated with the Ferndale Grain facility closure.
Lynden:
- The public has been invited to comment on the planned paving projects on Guide Meridian (State Route 539) and Badger Road (State Route 546) scheduled for 2028. People are encouraged to take an online survey, which is open through Wednesday, July 1. created by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The project will pave two miles of road in both directions of the Guide Meridian from State Route (SR) 539 from SR 546 (milepost 12.55) to Bay Lyn Drive (milepost 10.40), and two miles of Badger Road from SR 539 (milepost 0.03) to Vinup Road (milepost 2.45), excluding previous fish passage areas at Depot Road (milepost 1.47) and Bender Road (milepost 2.01).
- Construction of a roundabout at State Route 546 and Benson Road was completed overnight Thursday, June 25
Interstate 5:
- Northbound and Southbound I-5 has switched to a temporary two-lane bypass near Chuckanut Creek. The bypass will be used through September as WSDOT crews install a new fish-passage beneath the interstate. Old Samish Road is being used as the two-lane bypass lanes for southbound traffic. The road will remain closed for the rest of the year, even after the highway work is complete, to install part of the fish passage.
- The left lane of I-5 northbound will close every night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. through the morning of July 2 in the two-lane bypass road used to make room for the construction of the fish passage.
- The I-5 overpass at North Lake Samish Road (exit 246) will be used by racers in the Lake Padden Triathlon from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27.
Mount Baker Highway (State Route 542):
- Eastbound and westbound traffic will alternate in a single lane from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly Tuesday, June 30, through Thursday morning, July 2, east of Boulder Creek (milepost 28) for utility work.
Everson: East Pole Road (State Route 544) will be closed east and westbound between Robinson Street and Everson Road until July 3 for a city of Everson sidewalk project. A temporary detour is in place.
State Route 9: Northbound and southbound traffic will alternate around the clock from Nugents Corner to South Pass Road (mileposts 84 to 90) for a paving project that began Monday, June 15. The project is expected to be completed sometime in August, according to WSDOT. Flaggers will be directing traffic through work zones.
Repairs to the North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) finished Sunday, June 14 and the highway is now open, according to a social media post from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The highway is the closest road over the Cascades Mountains for residents of Bellingham and Whatcom County. WSDOT closes the highway over the mountain pass every fall or winter because of avalanche danger. It usually opens again in April or May, but a series of winter storms damaged a six-mile stretch of the highway from the Canyon Creek Trailhead to Granite Creek, between mileposts 142 and 148.
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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Traffic Report: Fourth of July travel tips; traffic revisions in Ferndale, Lynden."
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