Bike lanes, sidewalks coming to road past this popular Whatcom beach
Increasing growth north of Bellingham is prompting Whatcom County to add wider bike lanes, sidewalks and other improvements to Marine Drive, starting near a popular beach park.
Construction is set to resume after a winter break on a $4.2 million project on a half-mile stretch of Marine Drive from Locust Avenue north to Alderwood Avenue, the county Public Works Department said in a statement Tuesday, Feb. 15.
A Federal Highway Administration grant is funding $2.5 million of the improvements, which include widening and resurfacing Marine Drive, adding curbs, gutters and sidewalks on both sides of road, and adding five-foot bicycle lanes on each side, said Marie Duckworth, Public Works Department spokeswoman.
“It’s going to receive an upgrade to an urban design,” Duckworth told The Bellingham Herald.
A crosswalk with a signal light that pedestrians can activate with be installed at the north end of the project, near the parking lot for the Port of Bellingham’s Marine Drive trail system.
At the south end of the project area is Locust Beach, a popular site for kiteboarding, skim-boarding and beachcombing.
Land on two parcels for the park was bought by the city of Bellingham for about $800,000 in 2012 and 2013, according to earlier Bellingham Herald reporting.
“I think it will make it safer to visit Locust Beach, especially by bike,” said Nicole Oliver, director of the Bellingham Department of Parks and Recreation.
“I’m hopeful this will lead to improved regional trail connectivity as well,” Oliver told The Bellingham Herald.
Construction is expected to start in March and last into summer, Duckworth said.
Drivers can expect delays for single-lane closures and alternating-lane traffic during construction, she said.
A detour will be available through the west end of the Alderwood neighborhood, heading north on Locust Avenue to McAlpine Road, then Hollywood Avenue and then Alderwood Avenue back to Marine Drive.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 9:29 AM.
