Work on the Mount Baker Highway will delay travelers heading to the mountains again next summer, but getting past a pair of construction zones should be easier than the detour around last year’s project.

It’s part of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s continuing effort to make bigger openings under roads for migrating and spawning salmon, which is required by a 2013 court ruling that said the state must ensure adequate stream flow because of treaties with its Indigenous people, whose culture is deeply rooted in the endangered fish.

Both construction sites are on Mount Baker Highway, officially called State Route 542, the main road from Bellingham toward the Mount Baker wilderness and the starting point for popular trails into the high country.

Construction is planned where Mitchell Creek crosses the highway near Mount Baker High School in Deming and at High Creek near Kendall, said Chris Damitio, assistant regional administrator for WSDOT.

WSDOT data from 2022 shows that Mount Baker Highway carries an average of 7,891 cars and trucks daily at the roundabout in Nugents Corner; an average of 8,221 cars and trucks daily west of Mount Baker High School; and an average 3,200 cars and trucks daily near the High Creek site.

Drivers will use Mitchell and Deming roads for the detour around the Mitchell Creek site, and a temporary bypass will be built in Kendall around the project at High Creek, Damitio said.

Approximate construction dates are July through September, which is the regulatory “fish window” for work that disrupts a salmon-bearing stream.

“The hope is that we can do these somewhat on the same schedule this summer. It’s horrible that we have to do that in the summer, with all the travelers who want to go to Artist Point. But it’s the one window that creates the least disruption for the habitat,” he said.

Cost is estimated at $14 million and will go to bid within the next couple of months, said R.B. McKeon, WSDOT’s Northwest communications manager.

A detour map and project website will be available once the construction details are more concrete, McKeon told The Herald in an interview.

“We want to keep traffic moving. We’ll build a temporary road and reduce speed and hopefully send folks on their way,” McKeon said.

McKeon said that WSDOT understands drivers’ irritation when they are delayed by road work, and she asked the public to follow the law around work zones.

“That work zone is our crew’s office. We understand that it’s frustrating because it’s the summer, but please be respectful. We’re trying to make sure that our crews go home to their families.”