WSDOT: Drivers should be prepared for weeklong Portal Way and Grandview Road closures

FERNDALE, Wash. — Officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) are reminding drivers to plan alternate routes and be prepared for heavier traffic on detour routes next week due to the scheduled closure of the intersection of Portal Way and Grandview Road (State Route 548). The road closures are needed to enable workers to replace a culvert carrying California Creek under the road. 

The round-the-clock road closures are scheduled beginning 3am on Monday, August 24th, through Saturday, August 29th. The work is weather-dependent so wet weather could cause the closures to be extended beyond Saturday.

Portal Way will be closed to all but local traffic between Brown Road and Birch Bay-Lynden Road. Grandview Road will be closed to all but local traffic between the I-5 interchange and Northgate Spur.

Pedestrian, bicycle or wheelchair traffic through the work area can do so with an escort provided by the contractor according to WSDOT.

Closing the area will provide a safe space for the men and women working on this project. It will also ensure safe passage for people traveling through the area.Tom Pearce with the Washington Department of Transportation (August 13, 2020)

Detours are planned to carry traffic around the closed roads via Portal Way to the south and Birch Bay-Lynden Road to the north as indicated on the map below. Closed sections of roads are indicated in red on the map below.

The south detour (identified in blue on the map above) via Portal Way is for passenger vehicles only and will add a few minutes to the trip according to WSDOT officials. The north detour (identified in green) via Birch Bay-Lynden Road, which trucks will need to take, will add 15 minutes to the trip.

Signs put up this week indicate unannounced truck detour routes (identified in yellow) via Vista Drive. There appears to be a route from Main Street via 2nd Avenue and another from the I-5 and Portal Way interchange via Washington Street.

This is the last part of a California Creek culvert replacement project this summer by WSDOT. Culverts were previously replaced under the northbound and southbound lanes of I-5 and under Zell Road.

With these changes, we know it is going to take longer to get to many businesses and destinations. We appreciate the adjustments people have made, and will continue to make during construction. This is one of our biggest fish passage projects yet and we thank everyone in advance for helping us continue this progress.Tom Pearce with the Washington Department of Transportation (August 13, 2020)

Once the intersection is reopened, single-lane closures are expected to continue for a while with flaggers directing traffic through the intersection.