Portal Way
By Curt Cunningham

Portal Way is a 10 mile section of the Pacific Highway between Ferndale and Dakota Creek. The creek is about 2 miles southeast of Blaine. This section of the highway was built in stages between 1914 and 1928 and it runs alongside the old Great Northern railroad tracks (now BNSF). This new highway gave travelers a straighter and shorter road between Ferndale and Blaine which saved about 5 miles off the route through Pleasant Valley.

The idea of a north-south trunk highway through Western Washington from Vancouver to Blaine was first conceived in 1906. In 1910 surveys were made between Bellingham and Blaine to determine the best and most feasible route between these towns. The route was not yet determined and only the cities it was to travel through were designated. Blaine and Bellingham were designated as Pacific Highway towns but between them the route had yet to be decided on.

Which Way Should the Highway Go?

By the fall of 1910 the issue of which way the road should go was brought up in the newspapers. There were 2 competing routes for the new state highway; one was the Guide Meridian, Sumas-Blaine route, and the other route ran through Ferndale and Pleasant Valley and was known as the "Hill route." A heated controversy would soon begin over which route was the best and "most feasible."

On November 17, 1910 the issue of which route was best for the people of Whatcom county was brought up for discussion. The Lynden Times favored the Guide Meridian route. They gave 5 reasons why this was the best way for the highway to take. They said the route passed over the most populous district in Whatcom county and the richest farming country lies along that route. The road would run through the center of the county and all roads lead to the Guide Meridian. They also said this route had the least hills and difficulties to overcome, and would benefit the greatest amount of the people. They also said the route would make Blaine a center of trade.

On February 2, 1911 The Lynden Times ran another article about the 2 competing routes between Bellingham and Blaine. They said the Guide Meridian route was straighter, on level ground and would serve the majority of Whatcom county residents. The Whatcom county commissioners also recommended the Guide Meridian, Sumas-Blaine route. This route was 25 miles between Bellingham and Blaine on a straight north-south and a straight east-west road. There would be no zig-zagging backwards and forwards, though it was the longer of the 2 routes. The difference in mileage was only 3.5 miles. 

State Senator Edward Brown from Whatcom county had recommended the Hill Route which ran over the hills northwest of Ferndale to Pleasant Valley.

The Lynden Times was against this recommendation and said; "any farmer will tell you that he would rather haul 50 bushels of wheat 24 miles over a straight and level road than 21.5 miles over a crooked and hilly road. Any automobilist will tell you that he would rather travel 30 miles on a straight and level road than 15 miles on a crooked hilly road. Why do many of the motorists going from Bellingham to Blaine travel by the Guide Meridian now, on roads that are not nearly so well finished as the Ferndale route to Blaine? Why? Ask the motorists? It is because they don't have to slow down every 15 minutes for a curve."

On February 16, 1911 the Lynden Citizen's Committee wrote an open letter to Senator Brown urging him to choose the Guide Meridian route. They said that the Guide Meridian road is nearer to the center of the county and that more cross-roads are connected to it than any other road in the region. Roads were already constructed leading from Lynden, Everson, Nooksack, Sumas, Custer and Ferndale to the Guide Meridian road. If the Hill route were selected only Ferndale and Custer would be served by the highway.

The State Makes its Decision

In the Fifth Report of the State Highway Dept. for the years 1912 to 1914 said that; in 1913 the state highway dept. was considering 3 routes for the Pacific Highway between Blaine and Bellingham which had been surveyed in 1910. The first route known as the "Hill route" ran in a southerly direction from Blaine for about 6 miles to Pleasant Valley and then east to Enterprise, thence in a southeasterly direction toward Bellingham on the Northwest Diagonal Road (now Northwest Drive). The second route followed the Guide Meridian Road. From Blaine this route ran eastward through Hayner and Badger for approximately 14 miles to the Guide Meridian road at the west edge of Lynden. It then turned southward and followed the Guide Meridian to Bellingham.

The third route which had not been considered by either the citizens or newspaper, probably because it hadn't been constructed yet, would run in a southeasterly direction from Blaine, parallel to the Great Northern railroad, and passing through the towns of Custer, Enterprise, Sandpoint, Ferndale and then southwest along the Northwest Diagonal Road to Bellingham. This new route would end up being the one selected by the highway dept. as the best and most feasible route.

Construction Begins

On December 1, 1913, bids were opened and a contract was awarded to L. H. Goerig of Seattle for the amount of $36,968.77. The contract called for the improvement of 6 miles of "this road" (meaning the road parallel to the track) extending south from Blaine to Custer, and making a connection with the existing road to Enterprise. The greater part of this section was through swampy ground, making drainage a very important problem. On account of the swampy condition material had to be hauled long distances. The entire length of the improvement was then surfaced with gravel. The roadbed was constructed 30 feet wide in the cuts and 24 feet wide in the fills. This section was completed and opened to traffic on or about October 15, 1914.

The contract did not include a new bridge across Dakota Creek. This improvement then had to be connected to the only bridge over the creek which was west of the tracks on the Blaine Road. The Blaine Road was part of the Hill route to Pleasant Valley. If this is true then they must have constructed Hall Road to connect this new section of the highway at its north end to the Blaine Road. At Custer the route used the existing road now called Bruce Road to connect with the road to Enterprise. These roads today are Vista Drive And Grandview Road. The section improved between Dakota Creek and Custer including the connections at both ends comes out to about 6 miles.

In May of 1915 bids were opened for surfacing of 3 miles of the Pacific Highway between Blaine and Custer. State contract #223 was awarded to Worthen and Satterthwaite of Lynden. The work under this contract consisted of surfacing the roadway with gravel 8 inches deep and 16 feet wide. The work was completed on September 30, 1915 for $6,445.70. It is unknown exactly which 3 miles of road that was surfaced, though it may have been used in the swampy places which was noted in the original grading project between Blaine and Custer.

In July of 1915 bids were opened for clearing, grading, draining and surfacing of about 2.75 miles of road between Custer and Enterprise. The width of the roadway was to be 31 feet in cuts and 24 feet in fills. Gravel was then placed on the road 14 feet wide and 6 inches deep. This work was under state contract #247 and was awarded to Charles E. Lind of Bellingham. Construction began in July of 1915 and the project was completed on January 31, 1916 for $12,169.94. This project extended the highway from Custer along the tracks to Grandview Road. The highway now ran from Dakota Creek to Grandview Road alongside the railroad tracks. At Grandview Road the route turned east to Enterprise then south on the Enterprise Road to Ferndale.

On August 27, 1917, the State Highway Board authorized the improvement of a section of the Pacific Highway between Blaine and Enterprise by graveling portions that were badly in need of repair. The work was completed by the day labor system. The Highway Board also authorized the improvement of the section from Enterprise easterly, approximately one mile in length, to a connection with the paved road running north from Ferndale (Enterprise Road) by grading, draining and surfacing it with gravel. This work was also completed by day labor. Construction on these projects was carried on under the direction of the of the Whatcom County commissioners. These projects were completed by the beginning of 1919.

The New Highway is Completed

In 1925 the Pacific Highway between Bellingham and Ferndale was realigned on a new roadway and was concrete paved. Today this road is called Maplewood Ave. and Pacific Hwy. The road bypassed Ferndale to the northeast and a new bridge over the Nooksack River was constructed. This new road bypassed the Northwest Diagonal Road and Axton Road.

In 1925 while the new road was constructed to Ferndale, plans were made to extend the Pacific Highway from Dakota Creek parallel to the tracks into Blaine. This would require a new bridge over the creek and a new road north of the creek into Blaine. At the south end a 1.25 mile extension of the highway from Grandview Road parallel to the tracks to the Enterprise Road was to be constructed. The first stage of this project was to grade the 8.82 mile section of the roadway between the Enterprise Road at Duncan's Corner and Dakota Creek. On June 17, 1926 state contract #1054 was awarded to George A. Banderet of Renton for the grading of this 8.82 miles of the roadway between Dakota Creek and Ferndale. Construction began on June 28, 1926 and the project was completed at the beginning of 1927. The cuts were 77 feet wide and the embankments were 34 feet and 58 feet.

State contract #1191 was for the construction of the Dakota Creek Bridge and it was awarded on January 26, 1928 to P. Manson & Son of Seattle. The bridge was to be a concrete reinforced T-beam bridge 336 feet long consisting of 2, 43-foot spans and 5, 50-foot spans. The width of roadway was 24 feet, with one 5-foot sidewalk. A provision was made in the construction of this bridge so that it could be widened to 48 feet at some future time. Construction began on February 15, 1928 and the bridge was completed on September 21, 1928. The bridge would never widened and remains today a 2-lane roadway.

On April 6, 1928 state contract #1210 was awarded to Norrls Brothers of Burlington with a low bid of $245,068.26. This project called for the concrete paving of 10.32 miles of the Pacific Highway 20 feet wide from Ferndale to Dakota Creek. Construction began on May 3, 1928 and the work was completed by the beginning of October of 1928. Enterprise Road had originally been paved 16 feet wide in the late teens and the construction crew just added a 4 foot strip on the west side of the roadway to make it the standard width.

The final project on the new road between Bellingham and Blaine was to extend the highway north from Dakota Creek to Blaine parallel to the tracks. On June 28, 1928 state contract #1241 was awarded to R. Rowland of Seattle for $7,417.90. This project was for grading and concrete paving of the Dakota Creek north extension which was 0.86 miles. Work began on July 6, 1928 and the project was completed at the beginning of October of 1928. This roadway was paved 18 feet wide.

There were a few complications with the pile driver which caused a minor delay but didn't hamper the project much and the new highway was opened to traffic on October 13, 1928 with no fanfare or ceremony.

The Highway is replaced by the Freeway

Jeff Fox remembers the old highway in the 1950's when the interstate was being constructed through Ferndale; "When the new alignment of Highway 99 was built bypassing Ferndale, the old Ferndale/Enterprise road was used from the new Nooksack bridge to Duncan's Corner where the newer highway curved to the left and then headed for Blaine. At this time there was an addition on the west side of this pavement to bring the road to the width of the new route. This section remained with its original concrete until it became the two lane route for I-5 in the late 1950's.

From the Bellingham Airport Road Interstate-5 used the former Highway 99 going north while 2 new lanes were built to the west to head south. A new bridge over the Nooksack River was built along the west side of the old bridge. There was a criss-cross before the bridge and the old highway being used for the northbound lanes veered to the right and used the new bridge. After crossing the river the highway became two lanes utilizing the old Highway 99 route.

This section of pavement from the bridge to Duncan's Corner was overlaid with asphalt at this time. Eventually the new southbound lanes would become the northbound lanes and new southbound lanes were built. The old Highway 99 route then became a service road running parallel to Interstate-5 on the east side from Airport Road to the Axton Road. The Enterprise Road section that ran into Ferndale from the Nooksack Bridge was eventually cut off and there were a couple of blocks that became abandoned if I remember correctly. I remember the Enterprise Road when it was original concrete.