Work to replace State Street bridge begins

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Work has begun on a months-long project to replace the State Street bridge over Whatcom Creek.

There will be intermittent lane closures over the next two weeks as crews do survey work and reroute utilities.

State Street will be closed at the site beginning April 19th.

Traffic impacts will be significant as State Street is a main route to access downtown.

All businesses in the area will be open during construction and access to the businesses will remain open as well.

Beginning in early May, the bridge will be fully closed to all traffic 24 hours a day for the duration of the project.

Franchise utilities such as Puget Sound Energy, Comcast, Centurylink and Cascade Natural Gas will begin relocating their facilities on Monday, April 5, with intermittent road and lane closures.

The new bridge structure will be a single span concrete structure over Whatcom Creek.

The wooden piles within Whatcom Creek will be removed and the in-stream habitat below the bridge restored.