NEWS
(SKYKOMISH)– From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 and Wednesday, March 25, Washington State Department of Transportation bridge maintenance crews will alternate traffic on US 2/Stevens Pass Highway over the South Fork Skykomish River bridge (milepost 49) for routine inspections. People should expect to slow down near the work zone and anticipate delays, according to a news release from WSDOT. Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT mobile app and the real-time travel map. (read more)
(BELLINGHAM)– Emergency work is expected to begin Saturday, March 21, on northbound Interstate 5 after slides sent thousands of cubic yards of boulders, trees and other debris down a slope and across nearby lanes of the freeway. Though work is beginning to clear debris and stabilize the slope, there is no estimate when northbound I-5 will reopen. Northbound lanes have remained closed at North Lake Samish Road (milepost 246) through State Route 11/Old Fairhaven Parkway (milepost 250) since the slides Thursday night, March 19, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation. Crews will work seven days per week. Due to (read more)
(OLYMPIA)– The Washington State Department of Transportation is relaunching the state’s WE-Bike e-bike rebate program on March 30 to help even more travelers get rolling with active transportation. People living in Washington ages 16 and up may apply for rebates any time between March 30, 2026, and March 29, 2027, through an upcoming application portal. The program will randomly select applicants monthly starting April 13. Applicants only need to submit one application to be considered for the monthly selections, according to a news release from WSDOT. Rebates alone will likely not fully cover e-bike purchases. Recipients can reduce the overall cost of e-bike purchases at participating (read more)
(OLYMPIA)— The Washington Department of Ecology issued penalties totaling over $1.1 million to Amazon Inc. and Walmart Inc. for illegally selling climate-polluting cooling and refrigeration products. These penalties come after repeated warnings and extensive efforts over the course of several years to help the companies comply with the law, according to a news release from Ecology. In 2019 and 2021, the Washington Legislature passed a series of laws designed to phase out the use of refrigerant and cooling products containing hydrofluorocarbons. Hydrofluorocarbons are powerful greenhouse gases that trap hundreds to thousands of times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Ecology began (read more)
(OLYMPIA)– From congestion pricing in New York City to Oregon’s pay-per-mile road charge, the Washington State Transportation Commission will explore transportation funding approaches during its March 24-25 meeting. Commissioners will also address topics closer to home, including efforts to reduce fatalities on Washington’s roadways, the Interstate 405/State Route 167 express toll lanes, and trends affecting Washington’s trucking industry, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The public is invited to attend the meeting, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, and from 9 a.m. to noon on (read more)