Ferndale urged to consider this tribute to the late Sen. Doug Ericksen
Update June 14, 2022: A request to name the Thornton Street overpass was removed from the city of Ferndale’s June 15 Finance & Administration Committee meeting and is expected to be introduced at a later date, said Sherry DeJong, deputy city clerk.
A Ferndale City Council committee will discuss a measure this week to name a new railroad overpass in memory of the state lawmaker who helped make it possible.
Several city officials and current and former members of the Legislature are urging the City Council to name the Thornton Street overpass after former state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a Ferndale Republican who died in December 2021 after a five-week battle with COVID-19.
Ericksen’s support was key to securing state funds that paid for almost all of the $21 million project, which is intended to reduce congestion and make access to Interstate 5 easier for residents on the north side of Ferndale.
Ferndale Councilman Jon Mutchler, one of three council members who are bringing the measure forward, told The Bellingham Herald that Ericksen fought hard to get state funding.
“He was very happy that he got it through. It’s going to change Ferndale for a long time,” Mutchler said.
Ericksen served in the state House from 1998 to 2010, and in the Senate since 2010, representing the 42nd Legislative District, which covers Bellingham’s northern neighborhoods and the rest of Whatcom County.
When construction is complete in 2023, the Thornton Street overpass will take traffic over the BNSF Railway tracks and link with Portal way and its I-5 access ramps, allowing northern Ferndale residents a short path to the freeway.
If the measure to name the bridge passes out of committee, the full council will consider the Senator Douglas J. Ericksen Bridge resolution at its June 21 meeting, Ferndale spokesman Riley Sweeney told The Bellingham Herald.
State Sen. Simon Sefzik, who was named to succeed Ericksen in the Senate, and two of Ericksen’s former legislative colleagues have sent letters of support for the honor.
“While several other legislators played a role in securing the funds for this needed project, there is no doubt it was the efforts and persistence of Sen. Ericksen that ultimately secured the funding for this important Ferndale project. It is also so fitting and appropriate that the bridge bear his name as Ferndale was the senator’s hometown throughout his entire tenure in the Legislature,” said former state Rep. Luanne Van Werven.
This story was originally published June 13, 2022 at 12:02 PM.
