BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Northbound I-5 in Bellingham has reopened early after a landslide forced all lanes to close.
The slide happened on March 19. It carved a debris field more than 250 feet wide between mileposts 248 and 249 and sent more than 3,000 cubic yards of debris down a 60 to 80-foot slope.
Since then, crews have stabilized the slope with 96 steel dowels and hauled enough debris to fill 2 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), they were able to open lanes on Wednesday afternoon after their work on the hillside passed final inspection.
The original plan was to reopen at 5 a.m. tomorrow.