Emergency work to clear slide debris south of Bellingham begins

Northbound I-5 to remain closed while work continues

BELLINGHAM - Emergency work will begin Saturday, March 21, on northbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham after slides sent thousands of cubic yards of boulders, trees and other debris down a slope and across nearby lanes of the freeway.

Though work is beginning to clear debris and stabilize the slope, there is no estimate when northbound I-5 will reopen. Northbound lanes have remained closed at North Lake Samish Road (milepost 246) through State Route 11/Chuckanut Drive (milepost 250) since the slides Thursday night, March 19.

Due to safety concerns with the unstable slope, work must take place during daylight hours.

Timeline

Interwest Construction Inc. has been selected by the Washington State Department of Transportation to perform the emergency work, and an emergency contract was signed Saturday, March 21. The Burlington construction company was the contractor that cleared a slide on State Route 11/Chuckanut Drive in spring 2025.

Contractor crews will be on site moving equipment to the area Saturday, March 21, and expect to begin clearing trees and debris Sunday, March 22. A full geotechnical engineering report on the area is expected to be finalized early next week.

WSDOT will provide updates about the repair plan and timeline by Wednesday, March 25.

What to expect

Until further notice, northbound I-5 will remain closed, and all northbound traffic will need to exit at North Lake Samish Road.

People traveling through the area are encouraged to use alternate routes, such as SR 11 or SR 9. Freight traffic is reminded that local roads and SR 11 are not suitable for semi-trucks.

Travelers also should expect longer delays on I-5. Flaggers will control the intersection of the northbound I-5 off-ramp and North Lake Samish Road to prioritize traffic exiting northbound I-5 during daylight hours and improve traffic flow when volumes are heaviest. WSDOT encourages people to plan ahead.

The area also remains an active slide zone and will soon be a work zone with heavy machinery. For their own safety and the safety of crews working to reopen northbound I-5, people should not attempt to approach the area or fly drones over it.

Stabilizing the slope, clearing I-5

Combined, the slides carved a debris field more than 100 feet wide between mileposts 248 and 249 and sent an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 cubic yards of debris down a 60- to 80-foot slope toward northbound I-5 lanes below.

Boulders, some as big as buses and many others larger than pickup trucks, remain unstable and unsupported. Safety concerns about more active debris movement prevented immediate cleanup from starting.

WSDOT geotechnical engineers began assessing slope stability Friday, March 20, and found areas of concern for more potential movement in the debris pile and high above on the slope. Teams began developing plans Saturday, March 21, to shore up and stabilize the area so that cleanup work could safely begin.

WSDOT will continue to work with contractor crews to develop plans to safely reopen this vital corridor for people and commerce between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., as quickly as possible. Safety for work crews and travelers remains the top priority.

Due to the geology of the area, this location is known for slides. WSDOT maintenance crews routinely do hazard tree removal and vegetation management, and clear drains and culverts to help reduce chances of larger slides.

Barrier also was installed along this stretch of I-5 to catch many smaller slides. But sometimes heavy rain events, such as the recent atmospheric river, can create larger slides with more debris and force highway closures.

Real-time travel information is available from the WSDOT mobile app, the WSDOT Travel Center Map or by signing up for WSDOT's email updates.