Interstate 5 - Fall 2003

Dear reader:

The first time I drove a car on Interstate 5, I was 20 years old and on my way to tour Western Washington University. I made the trip from Olympia to Bellingham in a borrowed Toyota truck. In Seattle, the traffic terrified me. Soon, my fingers were cramped from clenching the steering wheel. In Everett, I missed the signs warning me my lane was exiting. I spent 20 minutes trying to find the freeway again.
In Bellingham, I stepped out of the truck with relief. I never wanted to see I-5 again.
Now, nearly four years later, I can drive I-5 more calmly. Experience has taught me to put on some music and accept the gridlock.

I-5 stretches 1,376 miles along the West Coast from the Canada to Mexico, the only interstate that touches both borders. The interstate system got its start because of concerns about national security. During World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower noted that the German Autobahn system moved people quickly and safely across the country. When he became president in 1953, Eisenhower approved funding for an interstate system. That system reached Bellingham 45 years ago when I-5 cut its way through the city. Today, more than 46,000 miles of interstate cross the United States.

Each day, hundreds of thousands of people drive on the 276 miles of I-5 in Washington. In Bellingham, I-5 drivers make about 56,000 trips each day. Commuters head to work, vacationers start their trips, truckers haul food and other products and students drive to classes.

I-5 touches nearly every aspect of our lives, yet it rests in the back of our minds – like the constant sound of tires on the road. But I-5 shaped the western half of Washington. Where are all the large cities and densest populations? Along the interstate. How do we get our food, clothes and building materials? Truckers drive them here. Who keeps small businesses near the freeway alive? Drivers on I-5.
For this issue of the Planet Magazine, we wanted to take a closer look at the concrete strip running through our state. We talked to people who live with the constant whir of tires. We spent time with farmers who have found they can make more money by selling their land near I-5 than farming it. We talked to residents who remember what their neighborhood was like before I-5.

We also looked at the alternatives to I-5. Light rail in Seattle will give commuters another option. Some people prefer an older method of travel and ride traditional trains. We spent time at some of the natural areas that are left near the freeway and learned how I-5 affects them.

The more we looked at the freeway, the more we learned about the impact it has. I no longer drive I-5 in a panic and after working on this issue I no longer drive in a daze. I notice things I never noticed before: truckers, the plants in the median, the rivers.

I hope the next time you drive I-5 our stories help you look at it differently, too.