Northbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham is expected to reopen after nearly a month of work to stabilize a landslide.
All lanes of northbound I-5 are scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. Thursday, April 16, pending final inspections by geotechnical engineers, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The freeway has been closed since Thursday, March 19, when a landslide sent thousands of cubic yards of debris onto the roadway near milepost 248.4, forcing a shutdown between North Lake Samish Road and State Route 11/Old Fairhaven Parkway.
Crews have been working daily under an emergency contract to stabilize the slope and clear debris so the roadway can safely reopen, according to WSDOT.
“This has been complex, high-risk work that required a methodical top-down approach,” Transportation Secretary Julie Meredith said. “Our focus from day one has been to reopen the highway as quickly as possible, but only when we can do so safely.”
Work has included scaling loose rock, drilling into the hillside, and installing steel dowels to anchor unstable sections of the slope, officials said. Crews also removed large debris, including a boulder described as the size of a bus.
With stabilization efforts now entering the final stages, crews are clearing remaining debris at the base of the slope while engineers continue to evaluate conditions in real time.
Drivers should still expect impacts in the days leading up to reopening, transportation officials said.
A rolling slowdown is planned for southbound I-5 at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 12, while crews remove a large loose rock on the north end of the slide.
Until the freeway reopens, northbound traffic continues to be diverted at North Lake Samish Road, with drivers using alternate routes including SR 11 and SR 9. Officials say SR 9 remains the primary route for freight traffic.
The reopening timeline could change if final inspections reveal additional safety concerns, WSDOT said.
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