MileCheck Highway Report

MileCheck Highway Report: Washington, September 2026

by MileCheck · October 1, 2026

What Washington's department of transportation (DOT) feed showed in September 2026. Part of the national MileCheck Highway Report, September 2026.

✉ Get the MileCheck Highway Report by email, once a month →

How we got these numbers: These counts come from a daily copy of Washington's department of transportation (DOT) feed, Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026. Each alert was counted once. An alert posted and removed between two daily copies is not counted. Not all states report the same data. Fire figures are as of Sept. 30, 4 PM Pacific. Border waits are from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, saved every hour. Readings over five hours were treated as feed errors.

47crashes reported in September

15closures on the feed

853roadwork records on the feed

25wildfires on the national list, as of Sept. 30, 4 PM Pacific

843Seattle drawbridge openings

Crashes

47 crashes were reported in Washington in September.

Routes with the most crash alerts

I-5 — 13
I-90 — 5
US-2 — 3

Areas named in two or more crash alerts

Spokane (I-90) — 3
Clark (I-5) — 2
Lewis (I-5) — 2

Closures and roadwork

15 closures and 853 roadwork records were on Washington's feed in September, out of 993 alerts of all types.

The routes with the most alerts were I-405, I-5 and I-90.

Winter closures

Roads that usually close for winter

SR-20, North Cascades Highway — Closing date varies by year. The 2025 closure was Dec. 4. Source
SR-410, Chinook Pass — Usually closes mid-November and reopens late May. Source · Reopening source
SR-123, Cayuse Pass — Usually closes mid-November and reopens late May. Source · Reopening source
SR-542, Mount Baker Highway, Road to Artist Point — Usually closes with the first snow (Oct. 15 in 2025). Reopened June 10 in 2026. Source

Timing comes from each agency's own page. Exact dates depend on snow. We update this list each month through winter.

Border waits

Waits to enter the United States in standard passenger lanes at Washington's crossings, September, from hourly readings. Dates are local.

By crossing

Blaine / Peace Arch — highest 2 hr 30 min (September 21), average 12 min
Blaine / Pacific Highway — highest 1 hr 10 min (September 30), average 8 min
Lynden — highest 45 min (September 30), average 6 min
Sumas — highest 40 min (September 27), average 4 min

Live waits are at milecheckapp.com/borders.

Seattle drawbridges

Seattle's drawbridges opened 843 times in September.

Openings, September

Fremont Bridge — 382 openings, typically 6 minutes, longest 12
Ballard Bridge — 272 openings, typically 4 minutes, longest 10
Montlake Bridge — 102 openings, typically 6 minutes, longest 12
South Park Bridge — 49 openings, typically 6 minutes, longest 14
1st Ave S Bridge — 38 openings, typically 10 minutes, longest 24

Wildfires

Washington had 25 fires on the national wildfire list as of Sept. 30, 4 PM Pacific.

Largest fires, as of Sept. 30, 4 PM Pacific

Little Giant (Chelan County), 172,896 acres, 93% contained
Sinlahekin (Okanogan County), 166,007 acres, 93% contained
Kaiser Canyon (Okanogan County), 138,293 acres, 100% contained
Modrite (Ferry County), 57,594 acres, 100% contained

Thank you to the firefighters and crews who worked these fires all season.

Live fire perimeters are at milecheckapp.com/fire.

See the national report or another state.

The live version is in the app.

MileCheck shows state DOT feeds for crashes, closures, and delays in all 50 states, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba as they are published, with your nearest mile marker.

App Store Google Play

Built from MileCheck's archive of state DOT road feeds. A new Highway Report comes out at the start of every month.