Historic SR 536 Skagit River Bridge in Mount Vernon to receive first fresh coat of paint in 36 years

Project requires long-term closure to eastbound traffic over bridge

MOUNT VERNON - A new project will preserve and extend the service life of a bridge that connects downtown Mount Vernon with West Mount Vernon. The Washington State Department of Transportation will repaint the State Route 536 Skagit River Bridge, also known as the West Mount Vernon Bridge and Division Street Bridge. The project will give the bridge its first new coat of paint in 36 years.

To complete this work, the bridge will close to eastbound traffic throughout construction beginning as early as Thursday, June 11. Work is expected to finish in early 2027 before the start of the 2027 Skagit Tulip Festival in April. No traffic control is allowed during the annual event.

Drivers can reach West Mount Vernon businesses and homes using westbound SR 536 over the bridge, except during four weekend and three weeknight full closures.

People walking, biking or using mobility devices still will be able to use the bridge in both directions for most of the project. Access will also remain open to emergency services throughout construction.

Cekra Inc. out of Wilmington, North Carolina, has been selected as the contractor for this project. The company completed the painting of the SR 20 Deception Pass Bridge in 2020.

Eastbound closure

To protect the Skagit River during construction, crews will install a containment system around the bridge. This system will catch paint and debris while workers remove the existing paint and apply new coats to help persevere the bridge for years to come. To create room for the containment system, SR 536/West Division Street must be reduced to a single lane over the bridge.

After consulting with local first responders and other officials during design stages, WSDOT engineers decided to close the bridge to eastbound traffic for the duration of the project. Keeping traffic moving in one direction will prevent long backups that could occur with alternating traffic over the bridge. These backups also would extend emergency response times to and from West Mount Vernon.

Eastbound traffic can detour over the Skagit River using northbound Avon Allen Road, eastbound SR 20 and southbound I-5. People who usually travel eastbound on the bridge should allow extra travel time due to the detour. Westbound SR 536 traffic is not expected to see additional delays, except during the full closures.

Emergency responders still will be able to use the bridge in both directions. Emergency vehicles are equipped with traffic signal prioritization switches. In an emergency, these switches will signal temporary traffic signals positioned at both ends of the bridge, turning them red to hold traffic until the emergency vehicles have passed through the area.

Full closures of bridge

There could be full closures of the bridge on up to four weekends from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday, and three weeknights. Crews will use this time to set up and move the containment system to different parts of the bridge. WSDOT will announce dates for these full closures once they are scheduled. During the full closures:

• Westbound traffic should detour across the Skagit River using northbound I-5 and westbound SR 20.
• An Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA-compliant shuttle service will be available for pedestrians, bicyclists and people who use mobility devices. Signs with information on how to call for the shuttle 24 hours a day will be posted at pick-up/drop-off locations at both ends of the bridge.
• Emergency service vehicles still may cross the bridge in both directions.

Preserving a historic bridge

The SR 536 Skagit River Bridge was last painted in 1990. During this project, crews will remove the old paint and debris, including bird droppings and rust. They also will carefully inspect the bridge and replace or repair parts that have heavy corrosion. They will then apply primer layers and a fresh coat of protective light gray paint, the same color used in 1990. Most of the work will take place during the day.

The contractor plans to remove tarps that are part of the containment system for significant holidays, such as Christmas and New Year's Day, but traffic control will remain in place.

The bridge was built in 1953 and opened to traffic in 1954. It was added to the Department of Archaeology and History Preservation's Historic Property Inventory (PDF, 910 KB) list in 2011. The Skagit River Bridge is one of six remaining movable bridges in the state highway system. It was originally designed to swing open for boat traffic. The bridge has been in its current fixed state since 1967, but U.S. Coast Guard regulations require WSDOT to maintain the bridge's ability to open.

About 18,000 vehicles per day travelled over the 675-foot long, 28-foot-wide bridge in 2024, with traffic almost evenly divided between eastbound and westbound.