State Route 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, was reopened on June 19 after 58 days of closure due to a rockslide.
One of northwest Washington’s most popular and scenic roads, connecting the rural farm town of Bow to Bellingham’s Fairhaven neighborhood, is finally open after thousands of tons of debris collapsed on the steep, mountain road on April 22.
The rockslide closed both directions of the road, impacting local businesses that rely on traffic from nearby Bellingham, Mt. Vernon and Burlington.
Work crews from the Washington State Department of Transportation removed 7.2 million pounds of rock, dirt and debris, “including 15-20 SUV-sized boulders,” according to a WSDOT statement. Crews worked six and sometimes seven-day weeks to remove the debris and loose rock, replace 125 feet of damaged guardrail, drill anchors into the slope and stabilize the area, according to WSDOT.
The rockslide occurred south of milepost 10 near Blanchard Road, right around the popular Oyster Dome trailhead and Chuckanut Manor. No injuries were reported, and the debris did not impact the BNSF train route below the steep road, according to WSDOT.
