Date:  Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Contact: Dave Chesson, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5970

BELLINGHAM – Both directions of Chuckanut Drive (SR 11) just south of the Whatcom/Skagit county line will remain closed for up to a week as crews work to remove loose rock and stabilize the steep hillside above the highway.

WSDOT geotechnical engineers closely examined the area this morning, and have concluded that it’s unsafe to reopen the roadway until the slope is stabilized.

WSDOT will work quickly to hire a contractor and begin stabilization work. Crews will remove loose rock – a process known as rock-scaling – and may bolt large boulders to the hillside to further stabilize the hillside. The work is expected to be completed by the end of next week.

A three-mile stretch of Chuckanut Drive just south of the Whatcom/Skagit county line has been closed since Monday morning, Nov. 23, when a small rockslide brought down rock and debris across both lanes of the road. The hillside in this area is steep and the roadway is narrow; shoulders are almost nonexistent, so most of the material that comes down the hillside reaches the roadway and can be a danger to drivers.

Drivers can access businesses along Chuckanut Drive from the south end of the highway in Skagit County.

Pictures of the slide and the unstable hillside can be found on our Flickr.com picture account - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/4128664227/.   

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