Mount Baker Highway lane closure extended into January

Mount Baker Highway will continue to be closed to one lane just east of Deming through mid-January as crews continue to make repairs.

The eastbound lane near milepost 16 was closed Nov. 30 for emergency repair work on a broken culvert, and was originally slated to open by the new year.

But Washington State Department of Transportation crews found that they could not shore up the destabilized ground due to a large amount of rock in the way of the work that is needed, said Marquis Allen, WSDOT spokesman.

So for plan B, the crews will install a cofferdam, a tool that will allow them to pump water out of the way temporarily so crews can go around the rock while they work.

“Crews are going to be out there 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, with the exception of Christmas,” Allen said.

Flaggers or traffic signals will control the lane closure. Drivers should add the construction traffic into their travel time calculations.

Samantha Wohlfeil

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Mount Baker Highway lane closure extended into January."