New Bellingham street set to open that should ease traffic near Interstate-5
UPDATE: The road opened Jan. 28, 2021.
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Bellingham’s first new street under Interstate 5 in six decades will ease traffic near Bellis Fair Mall and in the busy Sunset Drive commercial area.
Pavement is poured, bike lanes are marked, and an adjacent Greenways trail is open — all that’s needed are a traffic signal and street lights, and the new section of Birchwood Avenue will be ready, said Public Works Department spokeswoman Amy Cloud.
That’s scheduled before the end of the month, Cloud told The Bellingham Herald.
“Once these items are installed, the street will be safe to open,” said Craig Mueller, the city’s project engineer, who on Monday, Dec. 20, said the road will open in early January.
“The original timeline for the project anticipated a year for construction and final paving in the spring of 2022. The contractor was able to complete the work well ahead of schedule,” he said.
It will extend Birchwood Avenue east to the intersection of Orchard Drive and James Street, from the sharp corner at Squalicum Parkway north of St. Joseph Hospital.
It’s been referred to for years as the Orchard Drive connector, but the new street will be named Birchwood, becoming Orchard Drive at the James Street intersection.
“The project makes a direct connection from the King Mountain neighborhood to the west side of I-5 near the hospital.,” Mueller said. “Significant growth is expected in the King Mountain neighborhood in the future and this project will aid not only traffic at existing I-5 crossings, but will also provide a direct connection for emergency services.”
Expected average daily traffic will be 6,000 vehicles, Mueller said.
James Street carries about 11,200 vehicles a day, and Birchwood Avenue carries about 6,600 vehicles daily, according to 2018 data.
Cost was about $7.5 million, paid with a grant from the state Department of Transportation.
Work began in March, and was coordinated with a project to drain Bug Lake and return Squalicum Creek to its natural flow, helping with salmon recovery.
Bug Lake and nearby Sunset Pond were created in the mid-1960s when gravel was excavated to build I-5.
Informational placards along the new trail section describe the natural history of Squalicum Creek.
This story was originally published December 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
