The Samish way on-ramp to northbound Interstate 5 is set to open this week – about three football fields longer.

The State Department of Transportation plans to finish striping and lighting the newly-remodeled ramp by Thursday, although wet weather could delay the opening.

Dustin Terpening with the DOT says the new ramp will give drivers more time to safely merge onto the freeway.



He says crews closed the Samish Way on-ramp three months ago, but the reopening was delayed from may because of issues with building the retaining wall.

The ramp is part of a larger $4.4 million project that also extended the northbound Iowa Street ramp and the southbound Sunset and Lakeway Drive ramps in Bellingham.