WSDOT working on projects throughout northwest Whatcom County

By Oliver Lazenby

The Washington State Department of Transportation is wrapping up several road projects while the weather is still relatively dry.

The projects will mostly result in intermittent single lane closures that won’t have much impact for drivers, except for a culvert replacement project that will close Blaine Road for a 57-hour window between August 26 and 29.

Blaine Road culvert

Crews are replacing a 3-foot-

diameter culvert with a 12-foot-wide, 6-foot-tall box culvert that will allow salmon to access a couple of miles of habitat in an unnamed creek between Hall Road and Hoyt Street, just south of Dakota Creek.

The month-long project will require intermittent single-lane closures and one full closure. The whole road will be closed from 8 p.m. on Friday, August 26, to 5 a.m. on Monday, August 29, said Jason Koreski, WSDOT project engineer. A signed detour will guide drivers around the closure, and it won’t affect access to business or residents, he said.

After that weekend, work will continue at the culvert until mid-September with occasional single-lane closures.

“I would say that the impacts to the public are going to be pretty small,” Koreski said. “Hopefully most of the work will get done in that 57-hour window.”

Blaine and Grandview resurfacing

The state department of transportation is also resurfacing roads throughout the county, including parts of Blaine Road, Grandview Road and Peace Portal Drive.

The work on Blaine Road will happen between its intersection with Grandview Road near Birch Bay State Park, and 4th Street in Blaine.

Crews will also be working on a nearby east/west section of Grandview Road.

A single lane of those roads may be closed between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily until August 12 for fog sealing.

A few weeks later, crews will be back to stripe the roads and install guide posts. That work will result in single-lane closures for up to a day-and-a-half, he said.

Freeway paving

The freeway resurfacing project that WSDOT started in early May will continue for a few more weeks.

Crews are currently grinding and repaving north and southbound sections of Interstate 5 at Grandview Road. One lane of the freeway and on- and off-ramps at Grandview Road may close through the end of the week.

After that, crews will transition into striping, joint sealing and other work on the freeway.

That project will finish up in early September, Koreski said.