WSDOT: Expect repeat of today’s traffic jam on I-5 through Bellingham
By Staff on December 9, 2024 5:03pm
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation reported a miles-long traffic jam in the southbound lanes of I-5 south of Bellingham today, Monday, December 9th. The traffic jam was the result of a lane closure to allow for scheduled work along I-5 near the N Lake Samish interchange.
HEADS UP: Maintenance crews are blocking the left lane of SB I-5 at N Lake Samish (MP 245-246) south of @CityofBhamWA. We are seeing about a 5 mile back-up.
In an email to Whatcom News, WSDOT said the work is expected to continue tomorrow and Wednesday.
Ourmaintenance crews are removing hazardous trees between North Lake Samish (milepost 246) and north of Nulle Road (milepost 244) from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 10) and Wednesday (Dec. 11). Southbound I-5 is down to a single lane through this area.
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– Washington State Department of Transportation (December 9, 2024)
Driver behavior added to the challenges presented by the lane closure according to WSDOT and the Washington State Patrol (WSP).
Our crews pointed out that people were going through the closure just fine, an issue they saw was people weren’t zipper merging/were having trouble merging.
One of the main culprits behind the significant backups is folks not zipper merging within the work zone. You should always zipper merge whenever possible in a safe manner. Here’s a reminder:
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– Washington State Department of Transportation (December 9, 2024)
WSP added that they were citing drivers discovered driving the wrong way on I-5 on-ramps in an apparent effort to leave the traffic jam.
Troopers in the span of 45 minutes stopped and issued infractions to 8 drivers using the southbound on ramp as an off ramp.
