If you’re among the tens of thousands of people expected to descend on the Fort Vancouver National Site for Friday’s Fourth of July celebration, don’t expect to snag a prime parking spot and stroll right in just as the fireworks start.
Visitors should be aware of several street closures and detours planned to accommodate a full slate of Fourth of July events in the area, according to organizers. Impacts in some places will last all day, though most activities don’t start until the afternoon and evening.
Among the streets closed for the entire day Friday is Evergreen Boulevard from Interstate 5 to U Street. East Reserve Street and Fort Vancouver Way will both be closed south of Mill Plain Boulevard. A handful of other local streets and intersections will also be closed on the east side of the fort grounds.
The Washington State Department of Transportation plans to close the northbound offramp from I-5 to Mill Plain between 6 p.m. and midnight. In addition, both the east and west offramps from state Highway 14 to Columbia House Boulevard will be closed from 9 p.m. until the fireworks are over, according to WSDOT.
Detours will direct drivers to alternate routes during the closures, according to the agency. WSDOT and the Washington State Patrol noted that pulling over on any state highway to watch fireworks is illegal.
The first events planned as part of Independence Day at Fort Vancouver kick off at noon Friday. The day’s main attraction, the fireworks show, is set to launch at 10:05 p.m.
As for parking, visitors will have several pay-to-park options near the event, said Cara Cantonwine, director of programs for the Fort Vancouver National Trust. Those include paid lots at Hudson’s Bay High School, The Academy, the Vancouver Community Library and Clark College. The event will also have onsite parking for disabled visitors, Cantonwine said.
If visitors wish to try their luck in downtown Vancouver, street parking is free all day Friday.
The street closures mean several C-Tran buses will run on detour routes Friday. But the transit agency will also operate a $2 shuttle from the Westfield Vancouver mall to the Fort Vancouver grounds. Buses will leave the mall every 15 minutes between 6 and 8:30 p.m., according to C-Tran. They’ll begin returning passengers from the fort immediately after the fireworks display is over.
Once the show is over, organizers hope to have everybody cleared out in about 45 minutes, Cantonwine said.
More information about the event is available online at http://4th.fortvan.org.
