Roundabout project at SR 546/Benson Road intersection begins June 18 in Lynden

Most work scheduled during June 21-27 closure of intersection

LYNDEN - A project that continues recent efforts to improve safety along State Route 546/East Badger Road north of Lynden begins Thursday, June 18, as construction of a compact roundabout at the Benson Road Intersection gets underway.

This will be the fourth roundabout the Washington State Department of Transportation has built along the corridor. The construction timeline will be shorter than recent intersection improvement projects along SR 546 at Depot, Bender and Northwood roads. The new Benson Road roundabout is expected to be finished in mid-July, provided weather cooperates.

WSDOT's contractor, Colacurcio Brothers Inc. of Blaine, will complete most of construction during a six-day, full closure of the SR 546/Benson Road intersection scheduled to begin Sunday, June 21. Crews performed construction at the Depot, Bender and Northwood locations while alternating traffic through the intersections, which extended those construction timeframes.

What to expect

From Sunday, June 21, through Saturday, June 27, the SR 546/Benson Road intersection will close to all traffic. People will still have access to homes and businesses in the area, including the PeaceHealth Lynden Clinic and Kulshan Veterinary Hospital, but may need to use different routes to reach their destinations during the closure.

Passenger vehicles will follow a signed detour using Main Street and Depot Road and can also take Pangborn Road north of the intersection. Freight traffic should detour using SR 539/Guide Meridian, SR 544/East Pole Road and SR 9/Nooksack Avenue during the six-day closure.

During the closure, contractor crews will remove the existing intersection, prepare the area for the compact roundabout, build new curbs and islands, pave, and place signs and temporary pavement markings. Crews will return in July after the pavement has cured to install permanent striping and finish construction.

There could also be as many as four daytime, single-lane closures of SR 546 with flaggers alternating eastbound and westbound traffic during construction. Benson Road traffic will detour using Depot Road during these closures. WSDOT will announce dates for these lane reductions as they are scheduled.

Improving intersection safety

Roundabouts are designed to make intersections safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Federal Highway Administration have shown that roundabouts typically reduce injury crashes by 75% at intersections where stop signs or traffic signals were previously used for traffic control. The studies also found roundabouts reduce overall collisions by 37%, fatality collisions by 90% and collisions involving pedestrians by 40%.

Roundabouts also have been shown to improve traffic flow by moving traffic through an intersection more quickly and with less congestion on approaching roads. Approximately 11,000 vehicles used SR 546/East Badger Road corridor per day in 2025, with eastbound and westbound traffic evenly divided.

The new SR 546/Benson Road roundabout will be designed so semi-trucks, farm equipment and other large vehicles can easily drive over the center island curb to safely navigate the roundabout.