Mount Vernon businesses struggle during bridge project

“We need help.” 

That was the message from Skagit Building Salvage co-owner Brandon Cardinal Aug. 26 at the Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon. 

His business, located in West Mount Vernon, is suffering as traffic has slowed to a trickle since the start of the repainting project on the State Route 536 bridge over the Skagit River that connects downtown to the west side of the city. 

Total sales for his business are down 21% since the bridge was reduced to one-way traffic headed west, with a lengthy detour to make the return trip to the east side of the river. The repainting project may take as long as 11 months.

In that time, business owners are afraid customers and potential customers will have found new routes and daily routines – that don’t include a trip to West Mount Vernon.

Cardinal is not alone in his concerns. Prabhjit Kuhnkhun, owner of NW Cannabis Co., came to Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Andy Mayer with similar concerns, wanting to know how the Chamber could help. 

Kuhnkuhn reports his revenue is down about 40%.

“Our revenue has dropped but our responsibilities haven’t,” he said, when addressing the group of nearly 60 gathered at the luncheon. 

Quantifying the concern

After Kuhnkuhn came to Mayer, Chamber staff realized they needed hard numbers to back up the stories they had been hearing from businesses on both sides of the bridge. 

“Within a month of the project starting some businesses were sharing their concerns,” Mayer said in an email. “[Prab] was the first to say very clearly that the impact was significant, and he needed help. It was then that we realized we needed real numbers so that we fully understood the situation.”

That’s when the West Mount Vernon Bridge Project Survey was developed. Mayer says it not only helped quantify the impact to date but also helps to project what will happen to businesses over the next seven months of the project. 

Mayer presented early results of the survey at the luncheon. Of the 34 initial respondents, 62% reported a decline in their revenue. Eighty percent of respondents from West Mount Vernon reported both revenue and customer traffic are down, and 62% of respondents from downtown Mount Vernon reported declines in revenue and customer traffic. 

“They’ve walked, they’ve detoured, they’ve trolleyed,” said Katt Boynton of her patrons at Katt’s Westside Stories as they have ventured to the tavern since the traffic revision on the bridge. 

“But it’s starting to slow down,” she said.

According to the Chamber’s survey, four businesses have already reported layoffs and almost a quarter of respondents are “unsure” or “not very confident” of recovering from their losses. 

Seeking solutions

Business owners who spoke at the meeting said they need assistance to keep going. Suggestions ranged from a break on taxes or fees during the project to working with the Washington State Department of Transportation to allow two-way traffic on the bridge on evenings and weekends when construction is paused.

Mayer said he and others have already begun reaching out to Gov. Ferguson’s office and local legislators on the matter. 

Mayer said he is hopeful the governor will make a formal disaster declaration so that U.S. Small Business Administration loans could become available. 

A precedent was set last year when the White River bridge was closed for repairs after damage to the bridge closed the main route between Enumclaw and Buckley for about two months. Gov. Ferguson declared an emergency in that instance.

At the meeting, Mayer said he would also reopen the conversation with WSDOT about the eastbound closure.

“I know they didn't have any bad intentions … but they don't know until we tell them what it's doing to people and businesses now.”

EDASC is supporting these efforts by reaching out to the Department of Commerce and other state-level connections to search for assistance via other avenues.

Take the Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce Bridge Project Survey here