# The November Fish Barrier Project and Roundabout Approvals The November 18, 2024 Public Works and Natural Resources Committee meeting addressed two major infrastructure initiatives that illustrate the complex interagency cooperation necessary for significant environmental and transportation projects in Bellingham. The committee, chaired by Hannah Stone and meeting in a hybrid format, unanimously approved three items that will advance critical fish habitat restoration and traffic improvements. ## Squalicum Creek's Long-Awaited Restoration Moves Forward The centerpiece of the afternoon was the approval of an interlocal agreement between the city and Port of Bellingham for the design phase of the Squalicum Creek Estuary Restoration Project — a complex environmental initiative years in the making that seeks to restore fish passage at one of the region's most critical salmon habitat locations. "Since the late 1800s about 90% of the Puget Sound near shore has been lost and in Bellingham Bay we've lost about 280 acres of nearshore and estuarine habitat," explained Analiese Burns, the city's habitat and restoration manager. "Those losses have contributed to declines in salmon populations and has impacted tribal treaty rights." The project addresses three partial fish passage barriers at the mouth of Squalicum Creek that currently block access to 32 miles of upstream habitat. What makes this particularly challenging is that the three barriers — the city-owned Roeder Avenue culvert, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad-owned culvert, and the Port of Bellingham-owned bridge — are so close together that "no one entity can actually fix their own by themselves," Burns noted. "The design footprint ends up bumping into the other barrier so we all have to go together, we all have to do it together." The restoration project has regional significance as well as local importance. "This particular barrier at Squalicum Creek Estuary was named as one of the highest priority for the state, the tribes and BNSF of the BNSF owned barriers," Burns said, while also noting that local entities have agreed "this is our number one as well" among city-owned fish passage barriers. The $2.3 million design phase will be funded primarily through federal grants — $1.84 million from the Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage program through the U.S. Department of Transportation and $300,000 from the state's Toxics Cleanup Program. The city and port will each contribute $80,000 in matching funds. Council member Lisa Anderson raised questions about future funding responsibilities, particularly regarding BNSF's willingness to contribute to construction costs. "I appreciate your optimism council member Anderson that BNSF is going to contribute," Burns responded. "I think their response would be that their infrastructure works just fine and they don't have a need to contribute or to do anything on their particular property, and that's not just happening in the city — it's a regional concern where Burlington Northern has hardened a lot of our coastal shoreline and isn't legally responsible or interested in restoring that." Interim Public Works Director Joel Pfundt emphasized that this represents just the beginning of a multi-phase effort. "This interlocal is the first of a number of steps related to getting this project up and running," he said, noting that the design work will span 2025 to 2027 and result in a 60% design that will be "permit submittal-ready." The project carries additional urgency due to flooding concerns. Burns showed the committee photographs from the November 2021 floods when "this portion of Squalicum Creek was essentially underwater and the surrounding development was underwater as well." She noted that one port tenant "experienced two floods in a one-week period and 1.3 million dollars worth of losses from those two floods in one week." ## James Street Roundabout Gets Green Light Despite Higher Costs The committee also approved a $4.25 million contract with Faber Construction Corporation for the James Street and Bakerview Road intersection reconstruction, despite the bid coming in about 20% higher than the engineer's estimate of $3.5 million. Project engineer Kyle Carlson explained that "cost increases on this project are likely due to the 50-day work window and inflation." The project will replace the existing traffic signal with a roundabout, including new sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, street lighting and stormwater facilities. Council member Anderson expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying "that area of Bakerview and James is horrible during high traffic times and so I know it'll be inconvenient for a little while, glad to see a 50-day window probably give or take a little additional time if there's setbacks but really happy to see this coming through." The accelerated timeline is designed to minimize disruption to the growing King Mountain neighborhood. The project will temporarily close the north leg of James Street for 15 days and the south leg for 10 days, allowing contractors to work safely and efficiently. ## Round-the-Clock Construction Gets Noise Variance To facilitate the accelerated construction schedule, the committee approved a noise variance allowing 24-hour construction operations for 50 consecutive days. The variance from the city's noise restrictions in municipal code 10.24.120(C)(4) is intended to "rip the Band-Aid off quickly," in Pfundt's words. "We specifically designed this project construction and bid it so that we could get it done as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize those impacts," Pfundt explained. "Any time we build a roundabout it's a major reconstruction and there are limited alternatives for drivers in this area so it would be very impactful." The location was considered suitable for 24-hour operations due to limited nearby development. Council member Anderson asked about community notification, noting concern for residents within the 500-foot radius of impacts. Staff confirmed that while formal notification will go out to surrounding property owners, no significant objections had been received during the preliminary notice period. The typical sounds during construction will include "backup beepers, vehicle sounds, generators probably the most typical sounds," according to staff, rather than more intrusive activities like pile driving. ## Broader Context and Future Coordination The meeting highlighted the complex nature of modern infrastructure projects that require coordination among multiple jurisdictions, agencies, and funding sources. The Squalicum Creek project exemplifies this complexity, involving federal transportation and environmental agencies, state departments, tribal governments, the city, the port, and a major railroad company. Committee members noted that Council member Michael Lilliquist was excused to attend a regional housing conference in Portland with city staff, demonstrating the ongoing coordination required across different policy areas and jurisdictions. Both major projects approved represent significant investments in Bellingham's infrastructure — one environmental, one transportation — that will have long-term impacts on the community's resilience and quality of life. The fish passage project addresses climate change adaptation and tribal treaty rights while the intersection project responds to the transportation needs of a rapidly growing neighborhood. The committee meeting, lasting just 40 minutes, moved efficiently through the agenda with unanimous approval of all three items, setting the stage for full council consideration at the evening's regular meeting. The brevity of the session belied the complexity and long-term significance of the infrastructure investments being advanced, particularly the Squalicum Creek restoration project that has been in various stages of planning for over two decades.