Deer Trail to return to 2-lane traffic next week

An eroded roadway in Birch Bay will reopen to two-lane traffic after Whatcom County Public Works Department contractors install temporary erosion and sediment controls where a landslide closed the road to one lane of traffic for eight months. 

Public works engineer Brian Walker said in an email that Stremler Gravel, an excavation company out of Lynden, began work adding a temporary travel lane on Deer Trail October 25. He said public works anticipates the road to have two-way traffic by next week. 

Permanent repair work for Deer Trail is scheduled to start in the spring of 2022 when weather conditions are more favorable, according to public works, as delays in acquiring property access agreements prevented the work from taking place before this year’s rainy season. In a January 15 newsletter, public works said a long-term fix would take a year or two due to staff resources, budget, permitting and other factors.

Since January, Deer Trail has been reduced to one lane near the intersection of Cherry Tree Lane. Stop signs have been placed on either end of the road to control traffic. Because of the gradient and bend in the road, it can be difficult for those entering the residential area to see oncoming traffic on the other side of the barriers that block the eroded roadway.

Deer Trail serves as sole access to households on it: Cherry Tree Lane, Fawn Crescent, Pheasant Drive and Grouse Crescent Road, totaling about 90 residences.

The landslide occurred when a county maintenance and operations crew removed a maple tree in January that had separated from the hillside and pulled the edge of Deer Trail with it. 

This week, Stremler Gravel will be removing trees in the right of way to reduce additional landslide potential and constructing a temporary travel lane for southbound traffic, Walker said. Crews will fill existing roadside ditches with free-draining rock and top it with compacted, crushed rock surfacing for the extra lane. They will also place plastic sheeting over the existing exposed landslide soils and install runoff dispersion wattles at the toe of the sheeting.

Once the temporary fix is complete, county crews will remove the stop signs and add additional interim roadway signage.