19 days of closures to start Monday on SR 20 near Deception Pass

Traveling between Deception Pass and Anacortes won’t be pleasant starting next Monday.

That’s when the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will activate new temporary traffic signals on SR 20 at Campbell Lake Road. They will allow only one direction of travel through the construction zone, which is about four miles north of Deception Pass.

This one-lane alternating traffic pattern will stay in place for 19 straight days, 24 hours a day. The signals go live at 6 a.m. next Monday. They are scheduled to stay active through 6 p.m. on Friday, September 4, which is a major travel day for the start of Labor Day Weekend.

What is WSDOT doing in the area that requires such a move?

WSDOT is building a new roundabout at the three-way intersection. This will help improve safety and help drivers coming from Campbell Lake Road access SR 20. I sat up there for a while last week and watched drivers sit and sit and sit, while looking for a way to get on the highway. A few of them jumped into tight gaps.

WSDOT’s Elizabeth Mount told me the contractor needs these 19 days to raise the dirt level on the east side of the highway.

“That’s when crews will build up the roadbed beneath eastbound SR 20 to meet that final grade of the roundabout,” she said. “A temporary layer of asphalt will be applied to be used by the eastbound traffic during that settlement period.”

I can see why it’s going to take so long to fill this in. The road slopes down severely in this spot. The west side of the road appears to be about five to 10 feet above the east side. That hole has to be filled, and it’s going to take some time.

After the 19 days of closures, WSDOT will return two-way traffic to the corridor for about six months. WSDOT’s Melissa Ambler said that will allow the dirt to settle and give the contractor an idea of how much dirt will have to be added before the roundabout can be built.

“Because of the poor soils in the area, we need to wait and see if any of it settles,” she said. “We’ll be back next year. We’ll survey the area and see if we’re still at the proper elevation, and if we’re not, then we’ll build it up again and then build the roundabout.”

19-day closure is just the first phase of a longer project

Once work on the roundabout begins next year, WSDOT will once again reduce SR 20 to one lane alternating traffic, but this time for up to 54 days.

The speed limit in the area has already been reduced to 40 miles an hour in the area, and I can tell you that it is being closely monitored by Washington State Patrol. I saw multiple troopers patrolling the area last week.

The only real way to avoid the backups in this area is to take Rosario Road, but that is an even smaller road and can’t handle much capacity. It’s not really a good option.

Your best bet is to avoid peak times or maybe catch a ferry.

Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.

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