This section of trail to popular waterfront park in Bellingham reopens after repair
After nearly five months, a section of a trail that connects downtown Bellingham to popular Boulevard Park and Taylor Dock on the city’s waterfront has reopened after repairs to parts of a timber trestle that were decaying.
The trestle is on the north side of the 4-mile South Bay Trail.
The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department closed it for repairs Oct. 22 and reopened it Wednesday, March 10, after a $445,000 fix, Russ Isaly, Parks Department project manager, said in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
“This repair project was related to safety concerns regarding the existing timber trestle,” he said.
An inspection showed that the timber structure below the concrete path had “major decay,” Isaly said.
Bellingham-based Razz Construction repaired the trestle.
Engineer estimates had put the project cost at $700,000, Isaly said, but Razz Construction came up with the idea of using steel replacements at a lower cost.
Trail-users can expect a second, though much shorter, closure later in March for final asphalt surfacing on the north approach at the Laurel Street alley, as well as handrail installation.
That two-day closure is planned for the week of March 22.
Voter-approved Greenways levy money paid for the project.
