I-5 lane closure in Bellingham extended into the evening commute

View of I-5 south of the lane closure at 5:30pm (September 16, 2021). WSDOT traffic camera

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A lane closure scheduled for today, Thursday, September 16th, between 9am and 5pm, extended into the evening commute.

As of 5:30pm, a 2-mile traffic backup had formed behind the lane closure in the northbound I-5 lanes near the W Bakerview Road interchange. The closure was needed to allow a Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) contractor to pave a northbound on-ramp under construction.

Officials with WSDOT told Whatcom News the work that required the lane closure, expected to take between 3 and 4 hours, began about 3pm.

As of 5:45pm, the lane was expected to reopen about 6:30pm.