Beach Ave (Lummi Island) Roadway & Slope Failure Repair

Map of Beach Avenue on Lummi Island

Project Background

As a result of an extreme rainfall and flooding event that occurred in mid-November 2021, approximate 250 linear feet of Beach Ave between Cedar Way and Aiston Creek Road (private road) experienced severe erosion of the roadway shoulders and undercutting asphalt travel lanes with washout of roadway’s structural base. County maintenance crews have constructed temporary roadway repairs to establish a temporary one-way, alternating traffic lane to provide limited access for emergency and service vehicles.  Residents with passenger vehicles are encouraged to continue using Berry Way/Aiston Creek Road (both private roads) to access their residences south of the Beach Ave closure. Whatcom County Public Works and a hired geotechnical consulting engineering firm will examine the site condition of Beach Avenue and develop a permanent roadway repair plan to be constructed as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. 

Project Updates

June 12, 2024: 

The bid advertisement period for the Beach Avenue Landslide Repair project closed on Tuesday, June 11. Unfortunately, the County did not receive any bids for the work. 

Potential contractors provided valuable feedback on this bid package. One concern raised was the logistics of moving construction materials to Lummi Island, which was a greater challenge than anticipated in the bid. The main reason is that the Whatcom Chief has a 50,000GVW load limit and limited total capacity, hindering the ability to transport the required materials efficiently.  

We expect to reintroduce the Beach Avenue Landslide Repair project for bid in the fall or winter, with construction in the summer of 2025. This will allow time to work with area contractors to address concerns with updated plans and specifications. Thank you for your patience during this process. 

Sign Up for Project Updates

Using the Notify Me system, you can sign up to get notifications by text or email whenever we have project updates to share.

How to sign up to receive email and/or text notifications: 

  1. Go to the Notify Me page on our website. 
  2. Type in your email address and phone number under the Your Profile Information section at the top of the page.
  3. Scroll down to the News Flash section, and find the News Flash item labeled Public Works – Beach Ave Roadway & Slope Failure Repair. 
  4. Click on the envelope icon and/or the phone icon, depending on your preferences. The envelope icon will send you emails, and the phone icon will send you text messages. 
  5. Finally, you will get an email or text message confirmation from Civic Plus (depending on which icon you clicked on in Step 4 asking you to confirm your subscription). Click the link to confirm your subscription.