Guide Meridian to close next week for fish passage project; detour planned for commuters
Guide Meridian will close between Front and Main streets in Lynden for several days next week as part of a $3 million project to improve salmon habitat in a creek called Duffner Ditch.
“This project will open an estimated 6 miles of habitat for native fish by replacing the existing fish barrier with a new fish-passable box culvert. Installing the new culvert requires a full closure of State Route 539 (Guide Meridian),” the Washington State Department of Transportation said in an email.
It’s part of statewide efforts to boost stream flow because of a 2013 court ruling that said the state must protect salmon runs under treaties with its Indigenous people.
Full closure starts at 7 p.m. Monday and opening is expected at 7 p.m. Thursday , WSDOT said.
A signed detour will be posted:
▪ Drivers heading north will take Birch Bay Lynden Road to Berthusen Road to West Main Street before rejoining SR 539.
▪ Drivers heading south with take Main Street to 19th Street before rejoining SR 539. This is also the detour route for bikes and pedestrians.
Earlier this year, Mount Baker Highway closed east of Bellingham for a construction project to help salmon migration and spawning on Squalicum Creek, the Bellingham Herald previously reported.
And nearly $4 million in federal money is earmarked for Whatcom County to widen culverts where streams and creeks flow under roads and railroad tracks an effort aimed at helping salmon recovery by allowing fish easier access to spawning grounds, according to previous reporting.
