Submitted by Washington State Department of Transportation

Crews from Interwest Construction Inc,. who excavated Gribble Creek, installed a new culvert, rebuilt State Route 9 over it and reopened the highway more than 48-hours ahead of schedule.

Washington State Department of Transportation staff thank travelers in this area between Big Lake and Mount Vernon who planned ahead and adjusted travel times this week to take alternate routes. Crews will now begin work down in the creek to rebuild that habitat and move water back through the area. Some alternating traffic and short delays should be expected around this work.

At 7 a.m., Monday, July 30, travelers who use State Route 9 between Big Lake and Mount Vernon needed to leave time for a lengthy detour.The highway just north of West Big Lake Boulevard, 1.5 miles south of State Route 538, was closed to install a new, larger culvert in Gribble Creek.

In Skagit County, drivers can get real-time traffic information on their phone with the WSDOT traffic app and through WSDOT’s construction update page.