Westside Bridge Traffic to Be Restored Before Thanksgiving

Chamber Advocacy Drives Major Change to Westside Bridge Traffic Plan

The Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce is pleased to share an important development for West Mount Vernon businesses: the traffic plan for the State Route 536 Skagit River/Division Street Bridge is changing, with the goal of restoring two-way traffic before Thanksgiving.

Under the revised plan, the bridge will close in both directions for approximately two weeks beginning the first week of November. Weather permitting, WSDOT and its contractor expect to complete the project four months earlier than originally planned and restore full access before the holiday season.

This change follows months of advocacy by the Chamber, with state, county, and local officials. Those efforts culminated in a meeting with representatives of WSDOT and the Governor’s office, during which they agreed to discuss alternate traffic plans with the city of Mount Vernon.

Business owners played a critical role by sharing what they were experiencing, including significant revenue losses and concerns about whether they could remain open through the original project timeline. The Chamber worked to document those impacts, bring business owners together with elected officials and agency representatives, and consistently advocate for a different approach.

We are especially grateful to Mayor Peter Donovan and the City of Mount Vernon for their partnership and advocacy, and to WSDOT and its contractor for listening to the concerns of the business community and working toward a solution. This is exactly why the Chamber engages in advocacy: to make sure the voices of our businesses are heard when decisions directly affect their ability to operate and succeed.

But the job is not done. The financial damage these businesses have already suffered will not disappear when two-way traffic is restored. The Chamber continues to pursue having the economic impact on affected businesses recognized as a disaster, which could open the door to SBA disaster loan assistance and provide another potential source of help for businesses working to recover.

To every business owner who completed our survey, attended meetings, shared information, or told their story—thank you. You helped make this change possible.

We will continue working with our partners and advocating for affected businesses through the November closure and the recovery that follows.

Contact: Andy Mayer, (360) 428-8547, Andy@SkagitValleyChamber.com