The Lake Samish Branch of the Pacific Highway
By Curt Cunningham

Before 1872 the only way into Whatcom county was either by boat or Indian trail. The Fort Steilacoom - Fort Bellingham Military Road which was constructed in 1860 only made it as far as Snohomish, and the road leading south from Fort Bellingham only made it to Whatcom (now Bellingham) before the Government discontinued the military road program. Between these points the Indian trail was used. In 1865 a telegraph line was strung between San Francisco and New Westminster, BC., and in Skagit and Whatcom counties and the line followed a trail which ran between Blanchard and Fairhaven. 

On an 1870 map it shows a trail leading north from Snohomish and terminating near the south shores of Lake Samish. On the 1872 U.S. survey map it shows a road running from Bellingham southward probably on State St. and then onto 11th St. in Fairhaven. The road turned east onto Fairhaven Parkway and traveled southeast along the south side of Lake Padden and then down the hill to Lake Samish. From the lake, the road follows the route of the Pacific Highway and met up with the trail from Snohomish at the county line.

By 1889 a county road had been constructed from Fairhaven around the north end of Lake Padden and connected to the 1872 road at the southeastern end of Lake Padden, and from there it followed the older road to the county line. The section of the older road which ran along the south shore of Lake Padden would then be abandoned.

On March 21, 1891 a notice was published in the Fairhaven Herald calling for the relocation and improvement of the Samish Lake Road through districts 1 and 34 from the eastern limits of Fairhaven to the south boundary of Whatcom county. The petition for the road would be presented to the county commissioner on March 30, 1891.

The Herald said that; "the building of the road is of the utmost importance to the residents of Fairhaven, and in fact to every one residing in the southern end of the county. The road will establish communication between Samish, the Samish flats, a great part of the southern part of the county and Bellingham bay. It is earnestly desired that all the citizens interested in the project shall be present at the meeting of the commissioners when the petition is presented."

On March 30, 1891 a large delegation of citizens interested in the construction and improvement of the road from Fairhaven to the southern boundary of Whatcom county, attended the session of the board of county  commissioners. The petition asking the commissioners to take some action regarding the matter was presented. They must have liked the idea as they appointed J. M. Miller, C. H. Allerton and W, G, Gooch as viewers, and E. A. McFarland as surveyor. The survey was to be made by April 15, 1891. The road as proposed was about 9 miles in length. The survey began on April 15, 1891 although the petition had asked that it be completed by then.

On June 24, 1891 at the Whatcom county commissioners meeting a final survey of the Samish Lake Road was ordered. The Herald said that; "If the road is to be built the dry summer season is the proper time for its construction. Whatcom County Commissioner Lysle has worked industriously for this very important enterprise, and his efforts are at last to be rewarded with deserving success."

On August 8, 1891 at the Whatcom county board meeting, and after allowing a number of claims and rejecting all bids for the construction of the Samish Lake Road, adjourned until Monday September 14th. The bids for the construction of the Samish Road were rejected for the reason that the amount of money appropriated by the board was not sufficient to defray the cost of construction as indicated by the bids. New specifications were now needed and new bids would then be called for.

To Bond or not to Bond

On March 5, 1892 the people of Whatcom county were called to a vote for a $400,000 bond for road construction. The Fairhaven Herald was against the county going deeper in debt and published many articles giving the citizens all the information so they could make an informed decision. They were calling for the defeat of this "dangerous scheme" as they put it. They then said; "Suppose the bonds are voted, what roads will be built from Fairhaven and what proportion of the $400,000 will be expended in this locality?"

"The proposition of the commissioners contemplates the extension of the “Burfiend road” (Old Waterfront Road) \southward four miles over Chuckanut mountain to a termination in the dense forest at the Skagit county line, six miles from the nearest settlement on the Samish flats. The highest estimated cost of this improvement (?) is $10,000. It is also proposed to extend the Lake Samish road southeasterly to the Skagit county line, a distance of nine miles, more or less, provided the cost of such improvement shall not be less than $2,000 per mile nor more than $2,500 per mile."

"That is all, in this part of the county—- $32,500 at the most, out of a total of $400,000. And in return for this meager outlay Fairhaven is asked to assume, according to the present property valuation, at least one-third of the total debt. Omitting the principal from the calculation entirely, our portion of the interest alone would in five years exceed the total cost of the roads it is proposed to build to directly benefit this city. Rather than support such a proposition it would be better for the taxpayers of this city to build Fairhaven’s particular portion of this proposed 'great system' by private subscription."

The Lake Samish Road is Improved

On December 2, 1892 bidding was called by Whatcom county for the construction of 2 bridges on the south end of the Lake Samish Road. One of the bridges was 100 feet in length and the other one was 95 feet in length. These bridges crossed Chuckanut creek. south of Lake Padden.

Jeff Fox who grew up near Chuckanut Drive in the 1950's remembers traveling on the old highway; "When I was in grade school we took the Lake Samish bus, and its route was the Old Samish Road. When I was in 3rd grade in 1954-55, the wooden bridge over Chuckanut Creek failed, and the kids told me that the deck actually began to give away under the rear duals of the bus in the a.m. We then had to transfer from this bus to the Chuckanut bus at another school until the bridge could be repaired."

"The old photo of the Chuckanut Creek (on this page) shows the Great Northern RR trestle before they began using their new route along the water. My cousin has property on Old Samish and this line ran along the back of his place. If you walk south on the Interurban trail, you can still see where the GN right of way veers off to the left. The interurban used GN's right-of-way between Fairhaven and the Chuckanut Creek High Bridge. The Old Samish Road is only about 35% original as when the freeway was built, much of the eastern section was relocated to the South."

On April 12, 1893 the Fairhaven Herald said that one of the roads which the county ought to build, providing the county was bonded, according to the new road law, would be from Fairhaven south to the Skagit county line. They said an easy grade could be obtained from Fairhaven to Chuckanut, then up the valley to Lake Samish. From Lake Samish a good route could be found to the south fork of the Nooksack. This they said would open up a fertile country and the people of Samish and the South Fork could have easy access to Fairhaven. The Skagit county people were anxious that a road should be built from Fairhaven to meet theirs, which was already constructed to the Whatcom-Skagit county line.

On April 6, 1895 The city council of Fairhaven had decided to connect with the Lake Samish Road at an expense of $1,800. The work was let in sections with the Fairhaven Land Company improving the road over its holdings. The newspaper said that the improvement of the road is now assured.

On May 6, 1897 bids were called for the construction of 2.5 miles of the Lake Samish Road. The lowest bid came from the Moran Bros. who bid $3,625 and they were awarded the contract. They had one week to file the required bond. Charles Warsing bid $3,809 and E. M. Wilson bid $4,130. Wilson had once served as chairman of the state road commission.

On May 12, 1910 Skagit county approved construction of the relocated portion of the Upper Samish Road near Samish Lake, in accordance to the plans on file in the engineer's office in Mt. Vernon.

On July 3, 1914 a contract for $30,000 was let for construction on the Lake Samish and Waterfront roads. The Lake Samish road was improved in places and the roadway was then graveled.

Jeff Fox remembers driving the old road to Alger. He said; "From Burlington, head north and you'll see a small "S" turn over the tracks. The road then is straight for a bit. This section was still original single slab concrete in 2013. There was talk when they replaced the old 99 RR overpass that they were going to widen this section and resurface it, but people along the route objected. I do not know how it turned out. North of this the road must have been quite windy especially if it traversed the Fish Hatchery Hill. Old 99 made a sweeping curve up the hill, but it still was a pain in the winter."

Before 1934 the Lake Samish Branch ran due north from Burlington on what is now called Green Road. At Kelleher Road, the highway turned west and ran around the hill to connect with Butler Hill Road and continued north across the Samish river and connected back up to Green Road. Green Road then becomes North Green Road and ended in the little village of Belfast at Prairie Road. From Belfast to Alger the Lake Samish Branch followed the L. M. Abbey Road which is now called Friday Creek Road. The highway from Belfast turned east and followed Prairie Road for about a half mile and continued north to connect up with Friday Creek Road. The old highway followed this road north into Alger.

The Inland Highway

On February 27, 1913 the Anacortes American printed an article about the importance of the Lake Samish Road. The Chamber of Commerce had decided that it was the interest of Anacortes and all of Skagit county to have the new Pacific Highway follow the old Lake Samish Road instead of the waterfront route which had been proposed. At the end of their meeting they had drawn up letters to be sent to Olympia informing them of their decision. They urged immediate action as the legislature was to decide on the route within a few days.

They objected to the waterfront route through Skagit county because of the expense which was needed to build the road and the cost of maintaining it after it was finished. They said the route was an impracticable one which traversed a region unsettled and not favorable to settlement. It would be too much for Skagit county to maintain this section of the highway. The Lake Samish Road was declared to be more suitable and accessible to all parts of Skagit county, and the region the road travels through is well settled and the land good for agricultural purposes. The state highway dept. chose the waterfront route because of the scenery the road provided.

The Lake Samish Road was then designated as an alternate route into Bellingham and the road became the Lake Samish Branch of the Pacific Highway.

Save the Trees

On August 6, 1914 a call was made to save the old growth forests along the Lake Samish section of the Pacific Highway. They said that the road travels through virgin forests and no prettier highway could be found in the country and it would also be a reminder of the primeval glories of the passing Washington forests and they should be preserved by all means.

"To the present generation" they said, "it didn't mean so much, and when the forests of this state have made way for the farm and city, the remaining forests will be beauty spots cherished by the coming generations." By preserving the forests along that highway, the Lake Samish Road would be one of the most picturesque sections in the whole Pacific Highway. They ended their letter by saying "With the trees felled and the stumps remaining, it will be an unlovely, common place and uninteresting road."

In 1922 the trees were still standing but were now threatened as they had become very valuable. It is unknown how much longer they stood.

The Reconstruction of the Lake Samish Road

The Lake Samish Road was not a very good route to take between Mount Vernon and Bellingham. It was still in poor shape and the bridges were showing their age. The Lake Samish Road would not become a good highway until the 1930's when it was rebuilt and became the main route of the Pacific Highway. Until then Chuckanut Drive would be the best route to take.

On March 27, 1919, 3.5 miles of the Lake Samish Road was reconstructed. This work must have not been enough. This was because on May 13, 1920, Bellingham resident T. R. Burns drove to Seattle from Bellingham to attend a conference of Standard Oil salesmen. He said the Pacific Highway was an excellent road except for the Lake Samish Road and a detour at Mount Vernon.

At the beginning of 1921 there was only 23 miles of unpaved Pacific Highway between Bellingham and Seattle. There was 18 miles of unpaved highway on the Lake Samish branch. The road otherwise was in fair condition. The other gap was 5 miles between Stanwood and Florence, which was a good graveled road. The Pacific Highway was paved 3 miles north of Burlington and the 6 mile stretch between Conway and Mount Vernon was dedicated in December of 1920. There was a mile stretch of highway north of Silvana which was to be opened on January 13, 1921. The newspaper said that the paving removed all of the hardships of the trip to Seattle.

On July 28, 1921 the Lynden Tribune said that: "Those who went to see the Seattle Wayfarer are dead certain that the Lake Samish Road needs doctoring to make the the Seattle way fairer."

The Protest

On December 9, 1926 the City of Anacortes made a formal protest over the use of busses and freight trucks on the state highways. They did not want any more franchises granted until these companies begin to pay taxes for the upkeep of the roads. The resolution, introduced by Councilman W. F, McCracken passed by the unanimous vote of all councilmen present. 

They said that the portion of the Pacific Highway known as Chuckanut Drive, in Skagit county, was built primarily to be used as a scenic highway, and traffic is now so congested at times as to make its use for this purpose dangerous. The was caused by heavy, slow-moving freight trucks and trailers, and the faster but ponderous passenger busses. Chuckanut drive was built at a very great expense with huge sums being expended in Skagit county for this purpose, and the heavy expenditure had prevented Skagit county from securing its fair share of state aid for its other highways. 

The increased use of Chuckanut Drive by passenger busses and freight trucks and the further congestion of traffic, caused a great expense for maintenance and repair of this highway. The city council of Anacortes said that all common carriers, both freight and passengers, be routed over the Lake Samish Road between Burlington and Bellingham. They sent a copy of their resolution to the department of public works. The resolution was ignored although the City of Anacortes got their wish the following spring when the Gates bridge began to fail under the strain of heavy traffic.

On March 31, 1927 Chuckanut Drive was closed to traffic until April 15th by order of Street Superintendent E. B. Pym of Bellingham. Gates bridge had become so weakened by traffic from heavy trucks and cars and was to be rebuilt. They hoped it would be completed by April 15th. Heavy trucks were barred from using the bridges on the Lake Samish Road and were transferred past gates bridge on interurban flat cars to Bellingham. All traffic was routed via the Lake Samish Highway, excepting the heavy trucks and cars.

The New Road is Completed

On April 4, 1929 the state highway engineer said that the $150,000 which was appropriated for the Lake Samish Road would relieve the county of the care and maintenance of that road. The road was immediately put into good condition by the state and the road was finished quickly. When the project was completed, Chuckanut Drive was closed to traffic and the gaps in that road were paved, while the bridge at Blanchard was rebuilt.

On July 18, 1929 surveying crews from the state highway dept. were busy surveying the road from Lake Samish into Bellingham. They had a mission to straighten out and shorten the existing road for use during the Chuckanut Drive paving and the new bridge was built at Blanchard. The Highway dept approved $205,000 for the Blanchard bridge and $97,000 was set aside for paving the last remaining stretches. The Lake Samish Road was to be used as an auxiliary highway into Bellingham providing another outlet to the Pacific Highway for Bellingham.

On March 6, 1930 it was announced that Chuckanut Drive would be closed April 1st for the laying of concrete pavement on about 2.25 miles of unpaved road extending north from Rocky Point. From Blanchard to Rocky Point the road was to be paved after the Blanchard bridge was completed. With Chuckanut Drive closed all traffic was diverted over the Lake Samish Road and the Wickersham - Lake Whatcom Highway. The heavy vehicles were to use the newly paved Wickersham - Acme highway due to load restrictions on the Lake Samish Road bridges. By the end of March the preliminary work on the Lake Samish Road was almost completed including the establishment of a new grade using the old Great Northern right-of-way from Belfast to the state fish hatchery.

On May 8, 1930 a letter of protest was sent by Alger residents to Samuel J. Humes, state highway director, stating that the Lake Samish Road is in no condition to carry the traffic that was to be detoured that way when Chuckanut Drive was to be closed. There were 13 prominent Alger residents who signed the letter requesting an investigation.

On August 14, 1933 the Samish River bridge was approved by the highway dept. This bridge would be completed in 1934, and here was 3.8 miles of the new Lake Samish Road which had been graded. This new road runs on the old great northern right-of-way between Burlington and Alger. Money was also approved for the paving of the gaps of the Pacific Highway in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

By 1934 the Lake Samish Road was completed. From Lake Samish to Bellingham a new road was built. This 8 mile section runs on along the north end of Lake Padden and bypasses Fairhaven and Sehome. The 11 mile section Between Burlington and Lake Samish runs mostly on the old railroad grade and was new construction.

When the road was completed the Pacific Highway know known as U.S. Highway 99 was routed onto this new road and Chuckanut Drive became known as U.S. Highway 99 Alternate.