Northbound traffic on Interstate 5 has reopened south of Bellingham
Northbound traffic on Interstate 5 has reopened, according to a 7:30 p.m. tweet from the Washington State Department of Transportation on Tuesday, Nov. 16.
“With extended thanks to @wsdot crews for their hard work, to public for their patience & our partner agencies we just got word that all I-5 NB at Nulle Road are OPEN. We have some work to finish this week, and that may require taking a lane but for now...” travel safely, the tweet read.
Interstate 5 through Ferndale reopened earlier in the day, but the freeway remained closed to northbound traffic near Lake Samish until the evening.
Washington State Department of Transportation Assistant Regional Administrator Chris Damitio said during a Whatcom County online briefing Tuesday that he didn’t have a good estimate when the interstate will reopen, though he said crews are working “vigorously” to reopen the stretch of road into Bellingham.
The freeway was closed between Nulle Road and south Samish Way since Monday afternoon, Nov. 15, when heavy rains forced a 250- to 300-foot section of the hillside above northbound lanes near Lake Samish to slide across the freeway.
There were three slides in all Monday, Damitio said. And work Tuesday afternoon was hampered by another mudslide, WSDOT confirmed in a tweet.
“At this stage, we’re taking several steps to make sure that that slide and that area on the northbound lanes are safe and in good shape for our workers and traveling public to access the area, Damitio said. “We’ve got a geologist on the site. We’ve got an arborist on the site examining the site and again working vigorously to get that area cleaned up.”
A guardrail in the area also was damaged by the slides and must be repaired before the road can be reopened, Damitio said.
“We know this is a difficult time for the freight hauling community. We just ask again, please follow the signs. SR-11, Chuckanut is closed. SR-9 is closed. Most of the local roads that are available are not suitable for freight haulers. We’ve had some incidents already, so please follow the recommendations.”
Whatcom County Public Works director said truck traffic that was attempting to detour around the closure on I-5 used local roads near Lake Samish that were saturated and caused “a tremendous amount of damage to that road surface.”
Whatcom County’s response to the flood had not yet been impacted by the closure of I-5 prohibiting the flow of supplies and equipment into the county, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Director of the Division of Emergency Management John Gargett said during the briefing.
I-5 through Ferndale was reopened earlier in the afternoon Tuesday, though on- and off-ramps at Main Street and Axton Road in Ferndale remain closed.
Northbound lanes and the left southbound lane were closed Tuesday morning, because of water over the freeway due to the heavy rainstorm Saturday through Monday, Nov. 13-15. Southbound traffic was able to resume earlier Tuesday, but northbound lanes remained closed until the afternoon.
WSDOT also reported that the Iowa Street off-ramp at Iowa Street remains closed due to flooding at the underpass.
Every highway within Whatcom County likely has damage, Damitio said, but that damage cannot be assessed, let alone repaired, until the water has receded.
“Even though the rains have stopped, we have several highways closed due to the flooding occurring here in Whatcom County,” Damitio said. “Our crews have been working around the clock to clear clogged culverts, remove debris and try to restore travel on highways as much as is safely possible.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
