The "connector road," aka Birch Point Road extension, project description and progress including the Birch Bay Drive/Birch Point Road intersection. | 
Project Description | 
2-29-08 Update |
From the Nov. 13, 2007 Bellingham Herald:
County Public Works will update road closures on their Web site throughout the day, with a morning update due later this morning. Go to http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/, and under "Hot Topics" on the left-hand side, click on "Road closures and restrictions."
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| Traffic & Road Construction |
At its Tuesday, 10/23/07 meeting, the Whatcom County Council adopted the 2008 annual construction program, which governs which road projects the county expects to do next year.
The 6 projects with priority # for the Birch Bay/Blaine area:
#2 Drayton Harbor Road - slope & pavement repair - construction 1/1/2008
#3 Lincoln Road I, Shintafer Road to Harborview - reconstruct with enhanced shoulder & pedestrian trail - construction 6/1/2008
#3 Lincoln Road II, Harborview to SR548 - as above plus new road section
#4 Birch Bay-Lynden Road/Blaine Road SR548 - Intersection improvements - construction 3/1/2009
#5 Birch Bay Drive Pedestrian Facility (Berm Project) - Cedar Avenue to the mouth of Terrell Creek - Engineering, materials availability, permitting, etc.
#16 Birch Bay-Lynden Rd/Portal Way - Intersection improvements/Signalization - construction 5/1/2008
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Oct, 25, 2007
TRANSPORTATION
Road work at Birch Bay to be divided
County says plan lets 1st phase start while 2nd phase is being worked out
JARED PABEN - Bellingham Herald
BIRCH BAY — A multimillion- dollar project to widen Birch Bay’s Lincoln Road has been broken into two projects, a move the county road engineer says will ensure improvements won’t be delayed.
The county plans to improve Lincoln Road from Shintaffer to Blaine roads, creating a highspeed corridor that the county hopes will lure commuters from the narrow Birch Bay Drive. The work is estimated to cost at least $8 million.
BENEFIT OF 2 PROJECTS
Breaking the project into two — the first, improving Lincoln from Shintaffer to Harborview roads, and the second, building the road from Harborview to Blaine roads — allows construction on the first phase to start while issues are worked out on the second project, Whatcom County Road Engineer Joe Rutan said.
On the second project, wetland permitting, right-of-way issues and coordination with the state Department of Transportation could cause delays, he said.
Birch Bay residents, eager to improve Lincoln Road, asked the county to split the project into two.
PROJECT DETAILS
The county would like to start construction on the $3.85 million Shintaffer-to-Harborview project, paid mostly with county funds, next summer, Rutan said. The county still needs to buy right-of-way and get permits for that project, and problems with those could delay the project, Rutan said.
For the second project, the county has set aside $150,000 for engineering, permitting and buying land, but money for construction hasn’t been set aside yet, Rutan said.
OTHER BENEFITS
Breaking the project into two also frees up money to install a traffic signal at Pole and Hannegan roads, Rutan said. The project has taken longer and become more expensive because of problems buying right-of-way from landowners and rising costs of materials for the signal. Previously, the county expected to spend $2.5 million on the project. Now, it’s set aside $3.8 million, and $1 million of that is for buying land.
PUTTING IT IN CONTEXT
The projects were approved as part of the county’s 2008 Annual Construction Program, a $32 million plan approved by the County Council in a 7-0 vote Tuesday night.
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10/19/07
 01:19:05 pm, by Jared Paben, 137 words
The County Council on Tuesday will look at approving a bid for the long-awaited repairs to Drayton Harbor Road, a section of which has been closed for nearly three years after the roadway slipped toward the harbor.
Ram Construction General Contractors had the lowest of six bids, offering to do the repairs for $1.24 million, according to the bid. The next closest bid was from Callen Construction, and it was $82,000 more.
The total project cost, all paid with local funds, is estimated at more than $1.5 million.
The roadway, a main connector between Semiahmoo and the rest of Blaine, has been closed since January 2005, when the combination of winter weather, shoreline erosion below and heavy truck traffic cracked the road and caused it to slip.
Crews will repair about half a mile of roadway and stabilize the bank below. Adopted.
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Drivers can now get real time traffic and weather information by dialing 5-1-1 from most phones. This new traveler information system builds upon the highly successful Washington State Highway hotline that managed 4.6 million calls each year. Callers can also use 5-1-1 to get statewide construction, mountain pass condition, and state ferry system information, as well as toll free numbers for passenger rail and airlines. TTY users can call 1-800-833-6388
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- All reports of a fish kill, oil spills or oil leaks, chemical spills or chemical dumps, acute environmental damage from pesticide use or chemical application, and any and all other reports about acute environmental damage (meaning it just happened - not chronic or long term degradation) must be immediately reported to 1-800-258-5990.
This is a 24 hour per day, 365 days per year reporting phone number manned by the Washington State Emergency Management Division, and they will immediately send the report to the appropriate party.
Environmental complaints (such as the recent fish kill in Terrell Creek) need to be investigated within a few hours of discovery, or the opportunity may be lost to discover the cause of the event.
This is a free phone call from any phone (including pay phones), and takes only a minute or two of your time. This system has been in operation since 1987, and the phone number has been the same for the last 20 years, so it should be widely known. Please help ensure timely investigation of environmental complaints by using this system.
Thank you for your help.
Dick Walker
Spill Response
Dept. of Ecology, NWRO
(425) 649-7116
Also, to report an oil spill, call the state's 24 hour hot line at (800)OILS-911, that's 800-645-7911 |
Dec, 16, 2007
WILDLIFE
Hot line to report dead, ill swans
OLYMPIA — A hot line has been set up to report dead or ill trumpeter swans in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is continuing the 24-hour hot line for a third year to monitor lead poisoning in the wild birds.
The hot line, which will operate through February, is (360) 466-4345, ext. 266. Callers will be asked to leave a message, including their name and phone number, and the location and condition of the swans.
Though lead shot has been banned for waterfowl hunting in Washington and British Columbia for more than a decade, biologists believe swans may be reaching shallow underwater areas where spent lead shot is still present, according to a Fish and Wildlife press release.
In Whatcom County, hazing crews are scaring swans away from Judson Lake, a suspected source of lead poisoning on the U.S.-Canadian border.
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- To Report a Marine Mammal Stranding - 1). NOTE the condition of the animal, without getting too close, and the location. 2). DO NOT TOUCH, disturb, feed or pour water on the animal. 3). Contact National Marine Fisheries Services immediately at 800-853-1964 or, locally, call Mariann at 360-303-3608.
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Social Service Help Line-211 | HELP LINES “N11” numbers available nationwide:
211 – Public, health and community services. Routes callers to a United Way designated organization.
311 – Non-emergency police, fire and municipal business. Not active in Bellingham.
411 – Local information service.
511 – Road and traffic conditions. Routes callers to the Washington state Department of Transportation.
611 – Local phone service. Routes callers to the phone service of the phone they’re calling from.
711 – Telecommunications Relay Service, for the speech and hearing impaired.
811 – “Call Before You Dig” for utilities to be located and marked.
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| Just For Fun! - GO FLY A KITE |
For those interested in crabbing from the Bellingham Herald:
SPORT CRAB SOURCES Up-to-minute season and closures: 866-880-5431 Online season and closure site: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/ crabreg/crabindex.shtml General information: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/ crab/index.htm
Birch Bay is in Marine Area 7 North (greater Strait of Georgia). The crab season is set to open Aug. 15th, 2007. |
May, 19, 2007
FISHING
Puget Sound crabbers report twice
DOUG HUDDLE - Bellingham Herald
This season’s opportunity remains the same as last year’s, but how Puget Sound sport crabbers report their success will be different.
As with last year, Whatcom County crabbers will have the longest wait until their home waters open: Marine Area 7 East on July 18 and Marine Area 7 North on Aug. 15.
But when they do, no longer will personal use crab catches be reported on the all-in-one catch record card with salmon sturgeon, steelhead and halibut.
In 2007, caught crab get their own report cards and not just one, but two; a first card good for the summer season and a separate tally card for the fall/winter stint.
While you must still immediately write down (in ink) retention of any male hardshell Dungeness crab of requisite size on your card in the field, posting via snail mail won’t be the only option for finishing up a report this year.
There are now provisions for on-line reporting that can be done on a Web page that will be available at the department’s Internet site. The Web address will be printed on both catch cards.
First filings or reports for the summer season take must be made by Sept. 15. Fall/winter opening catches must be reported by Jan. 15.
To encourage compliance with the rule, all sport crabbers meeting the timely reporting deadlines will have their names tossed into a hat for a chance for one of 20 free 2008 combination fishing licenses to be given away.
With the timely reporting system getting more information to them quicker, department crab managers hope to reduce their reliance on telephone surveys to track and calculate the overall sport crab catch for comparison to allocations or quotas for each marine area.
If you don’t want to have to report your recreational crab takes, fish off in the ocean the Washington coast. The catch record card and reporting requirement have been scrubbed in marine areas 1-4.
All Puget Sound sport crabbers, age 15 and older, must pay for a $3 license endorsement fee in addition to an appropriate and valid 2008 Washington fishing license. Crabbers under the age of 15 get their crab catch cards free of charge.
The new Puget Sound crab catch cards will be on dealer counters by May 21. If you have already bought your 2008 fishing license with a Puget Sound crab endorsement, expect your catch cards to come in the mail by June 18. However, if your mailing address has changed, the department suggests you contact (360) 902-2464 to update your address to ensure you get your cards on time.
Don’t leave home to crab without them.
The Puget Sound daily bag limit for Dungeness crabs is five males, all hardened up, with shells wider than 6 1/4 inches. In addition crabbers may take six red rock crabs, either sex, with shells at least five inches wide.
Check the department’s 2007-2008 Fishing in Washington pamphlet on page 134 for the procedure to test hard-shell condition, where to place your caliper to measure for legal width and how to tell male from female Dungeness crab.
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May. 5, 2007
FISHING
Lake Terrell
DOUG HUDDLE - Bellingham Herald
Known for its warmwater fishes, this sprawling, shallow lake now has an additional claim to fame. It’s a haunt for whopper trout, having received some of the 1 1/2-pound triploid rainbows. A dock near the ramp offers the boatless a chance, but given its lack of depth, trolling or prospecting for fish from a floating platform is your best bet. Year-round, fish now.
Size: 438 acres.
Angling quarry: Largemouth bass, cutthroat trout, big rainbows, brown bullheads, yellow perch and pumpkinseed sunfish.
Stocking for 2007: 1,110 triploid rainbow and some 12,000 cutthroat fry in past year.
Getting there: Take the Axton Road exit from Interstate 5 and drive through the city of Ferndale onto Mountainview Road heading west toward Alcoa’s Intalco Aluminum plant. Turn right onto Lake Terrell Road.
Boat launches: At headquarters area, WDFW concrete ramp with dock (no fishing from dock) and a rough gravel ramp to at the east end of the shore road.
Angler amenities: One fishing pier is located north of the headquarters area. The largemouth bass in this lake are good-sized, a few approaching trophy size if they are not there already. The triploid plant is sometimes split between April and May.
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