New bridge construction will reroute traffic on edge of downtown Bellingham
Replacement of an 81-year-old bridge over Whatcom Creek on the northeast edge of downtown Bellingham is scheduled to start in spring, after a construction contract was authorized last week.
“This bridge is under temporary repair and a long time coming,” city engineer Chad Schulhauser said at a Jan. 11 City Council committee session.
Aging timber of two bridges at North State and Ellis Streets is deteriorating and could become a safety problem, Public Works Director Eric Johnston wrote in an assessment of the project.
“Replacement of the State-Ellis bridge will also improve our transportation assets within the city,“ Johnston said.
“The new bridge will allow the city to tee up the north leg of the Ellis/State intersection, provide wider, more pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and crossings, and add a bike lane across the bridge to connect to the recently installed buffered bike lanes at York,” Johnston said.
Work on the project will start in April or May, to make a July “fish widow” for working in the creek, said Public Works Department spokeswoman Riley Grant.
Construction will take about nine months, Grant told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
It was initially planned for summer 2019, and then delayed again in summer 2020, according to Herald reporting.
Traffic will be detoured around the site along York, Cornwall and Ohio streets, according to a city map.
About 17,000 cars and trucks cross the bridge daily, according to Herald reporting.
City Council members approved a bid of $3.2 million for the project, which is funded with a $3.4 million federal grant.
Plans call for a single bridge to replace two short bridges spanning the creek on North State Street, between Ellis and York streets, Johnston said.
Those bridges connect Bellingham’s northern neighborhoods with the city center via State and Ellis streets.
Other bridges over Whatcom Creek slated for replacement soon include one on Meador Avenue and one on James Street, Johnston said.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The spelling of city engineer Chad Schulhauser’s name was corrected Jan. 20, 2021.
