Bellingham waterfront gets a face-lift | Bellingham Herald

By late summer, the downtown waterfront should look a little more appealing, as work to cap the contaminated site with new fill material should be complete.

RAM Construction started work on the $2 million project this week, Port of Bellingham staff announced Friday, July 8.

The company will regrade more than 20 acres of the former Georgia-Pacific Corp. pulp and tissue mill property with fill, giving it a uniform, crushed rock surface, according to the port.

The new surface will act as a barrier between contamination and people, eventually allowing for public access on the site and preparing it for development.

The project will be paid for with a combination of state cleanup money and the port’s environmental insurance policy, and is being completed under oversight from the state Department of Ecology.