Skagit County sees a major speed limit reduction on I-5

Beginning Wednesday, Skagit County drivers will see a significant speed limit reduction on Interstate 5 (I-5) in Burlington. The current speed limit is 70 miles per hour between State Route 20 (milepost 230) and Cook Road (milepost 232) and will be reduced to 60 miles per hour along the 2.5-mile stretch between Burlington and Mount Vernon.

Madison Sehlke with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), said the reason behind this decision to lower the speed limit in this area for the change had to do with safety.

“Washington State Patrol came to WSDOT last summer to evaluate with observations that elevated rates of collisions were occurring where the speed limit transitioned from a 70 mph to 60 mph on Interstate 5, near Cook Road. After reviewing speed and collision data at this location, WSDOT determined that moving the speed limit change further north would be beneficial. The speed reduction encourages southbound drivers to reduce their speed before navigating the back-to-back curves in the SR 11/Chuckanut Drive interchange. Additionally, this would ensure reduced speeds in the State Route 20 interchange vicinity where a high volume of vehicles are also entering and exiting the freeway.”

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Sehlke also called out other factors in serious automobile incidents.

“Generally speaking, higher traffic volumes can equate to a higher rate of collisions, but not necessarily a higher rate of serious injury and fatal collisions. There are often many contributing factors involved in serious injury and fatal collisions beyond simply increased traffic volumes such as driver behavioral factors, weather conditions, and vehicle conditions just to name a few.”

Wednesday morning, between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. the left lane on I-5 south will be closed between Burlington and Mount Vernon while crews install the new speed limit signs. Once the signs are replaced, the new reduced permanent speed limit will go into effect.

WSDOT’s Target Zero program seeks to eliminate serious injury and fatal collisions on our roadways. Reducing speed limits can help reduce the potential for these types of collisions to occur.

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Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Nate’s stories here. Follow Nate on X and email him here. Head here to follow KIRO Newsradio Traffic’s profile on X.

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