Update: Bellingham road closure will affect I-5 access next weekend
UPDATE: Due to “significant rain in the forecast,” the Washington State Department of Transportation has postponed the work and closure, originally scheduled for this weekend. Old Fairhaven Parkway will now be closed from 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 until 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 27.
Old Fairhaven Parkway will be closed all weekend as part of a project to let salmon travel upstream to spawn in Padden Creek.
Closure of Old Fairhaven Parkway at 30th Street near Interstate 5 starts at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, and ends at 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 27, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
They’re working on a culvert that carries Padden Creek through the busy commercial corridor along Old Fairhaven Parkway and under I-5.
A detour will send drivers around the site from 30th Street to Donovan Avenue and back to Old Fairhaven Parkway, which is part of State Route 11.
WSDOT has been replacing culverts across Whatcom County and the entire state, partly in response to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said the state was obligated by treaty with Northwest tribes to restore stream flows that have been restricted by culverts built under state roads and highways.
Work began in April and will continue for another year.
“When complete, this project will have removed two barriers, one under SR 11 at 30th Street and the other under I-5 south of the SR 11/Old Fairhaven Parkway on- and off-ramps to support steelhead trout, coho, chum and Chinook salmon as well as other migratory species and wildlife along the 2.7 miles of Padden Creek between Lake Padden and Bellingham Bay,” WSDOT said.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
