Project Overview: EU184
The Meridian Sewer Main Improvements Project will replace aging infrastructure and aims to reduce the likelihood of sanitary sewer overflows and accompanying impacts to public health and the environment by adding capacity to the sewage collection system, which is a network of pipes and pumping stations used to transfer wastewater/sewage. This project is in accordance with the City’s 2016 Wastewater Conveyance Plan.
Starting in October 2024, this project will replace sewer mains along the northbound lanes of Meridian Street, from Orchard Drive to Van Wyck Road. The project is expected to be complete in summer of 2026.
- Night work (7 p.m. – 7 a.m.) mainly, with some daytime work
- Work will begin south of I-5, and move north
- Expect traffic impacts in both southbound and northbound lanes
- Take alternate routes and plan ahead
- Access to businesses, as well as access for emergency vehicles, will be maintained during construction
Status – Fall 2024
Starting the week of November 11: Daytime work in the northbound lanes on Meridian around Orchard Drive from 5 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. for approximately two weeks.
Additional Traffic Updates
Coinciding with this work, we made some traffic safety improvements to this corridor.
- As of October 22, vehicles are no longer be able to turn left onto the northbound I-5 onramp from Meridian Street and will instead access northbound I-5 via Bakerview to the north or Birchwood to the south.
Meridian Street is a 5-lane principal arterial street in north Bellingham serving the Birchwood and Cornwall Park neighborhoods south of Interstate 5 (I-5) and serving the Meridian neighborhood north of I-5 as State Route 539. The project area spans from approximately 800 feet north of Van Wyck Road and approximately 800 feet south of Orchard Drive and includes approximately:
- 9,500 feet of mainline sewer within the Meridian Street right-of-way
- 1,600 feet of a branch sewer main south of W. Bakerview Road
- 1,600 feet of branch sewer mains located at intersections
Private franchise utilities (CNG, PSE, Comcast, Verizon, etc.) as well as WSDOT have infrastructure located within the project limits that will be avoided. Efforts will also be made to minimize disruptions to traffic.
The project was awarded to Ram Construction for $16,874,555.01, from the Sanitary Sewer Fund.
Contact
Media Inquiries: pwmedia@cob.org
Aric Smathers, PE
Phone: (360) 778-7942
Email: arsmathers@cob.org
