WSDOT clears Bellingham landslide debris, reopens northbound I-5 ahead of schedule

After nearly one month of around-the-clock work to stabilize a landslide south of Bellingham, all lanes of northbound I-5 have officially reopened Wednesday. The road was scheduled to open on Thursday, but the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) opened it a day early.

Since the March 19 landslide, WSDOT has been working seven days a week under an emergency contract to stabilize the slope and clear thousands of cubic yards of debris to safely reopen the highway, WSDOT announced.

“This has been complex, high-risk work that required a methodical top-down approach,” Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith said. “Our focus from day one has been to reopen the highway as quickly as possible, but only when we can do so safely.”

Debris covering the roadway forced the closure of northbound I-5 between North Lake Samish Road at milepost 246 and Old Fairhaven Parkway at milepost 250.

WSDOT crews worked from the top of the slope downward, dislodging or securing unstable rocks before moving toward areas below. Removing any debris too soon or working out of sequence could release additional rockfall and make conditions dangerous, resulting in further delays.

“Took us almost four weeks,” David Rasbach, who works in communications with WSDOT, said. “Some of it was first initially assessing the area with our geotechnical engineers, determining how stable the area was, and everything like that. And then we moved into stabilizing the slope and clearing debris. The stabilization of the slope is a really detailed, precise process. They actually have guys that they call ‘scaling’ work where they actually repel down the slope, and they get hands on and eyes on every crevice of that slope and look for loose rock and rock that they can pull loose and send down so that it won’t fall later.”

A majority of the work had to be done by hand, with crews scaling loose rock, drilling into the hillside, and installing steel dowels to anchor the slope. All of which was done under the direction of geotechnical engineers. WSDOT said crews hauled enough debris to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools and reinforced the slope with about 100 steel rods.

Final stages included removing bus-sized boulder, anchoring unstable rock

In the past few days, crews installed and grouted steel dowels to anchor unstable rock and remove some of the largest and most unsupported slabs on the slope, including a boulder the size of a bus at the center of the slide.

For the last bit of work needed, crews will remove a large, loose rock on the north end of the slide that couldn’t be anchored. Out of caution, southbound I-5 travelers should expect a rolling slowdown at 8 a.m. on Sunday while work is underway.

“Neighbors, local businesses, and travelers have all felt the effects of increased traffic on detour routes and nearby local roads,” WSDOT stated. “WSDOT continues to monitor conditions, receive feedback from local partners, law enforcement, and the community, and will make adjustments where possible to stay responsive to community concerns as this work continues.”

Real-time travel information is available on the WSDOT mobile app, the WSDOT Travel Center Map, or by signing up for WSDOT’s email updates.

Contributing: Jason Sutich, MyNorthwest

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