Woburn Street sewer work nearing completion after months of disruption
Traffic backups are increasing on Woburn Street in the Roosevelt and Barkley areas as a $4 million sewer main replacement project nears its end after several months of delays.
Work on the $4 million effort began in April 2023 and included a monthlong detour when Woburn Street was closed from Alabama to Illinois streets.
According to a statement at the city’s project website, “challenging soil conditions and the depths of excavations necessary” delayed the sewer main installation.
“While installing sanitary sewer mains earlier in the project, there were some project delays when working with 20-foot-deep trenches that were unstable on the trench sidewalls due to granular soil and groundwater intrusion. In order to maintain safety to the traveling public driving close to this open trench, as well as to ensure the safety of the workers, the closure of Woburn became necessary and made main replacement significantly more difficult,” Public Works Department spokeswoman Riley Grant told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
Next steps include pedestrian curb ramps on Woburn Street sidewalks, as well as road grinding and surface regrading near Barkley Village, according to the website.
That work will start at 8 p.m. April 22 if the City Council approves a request from the contractor, Faber Construction Corp., during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, April 15.
“Due to the high volume of traffic in the Woburn area and relative safety concerns, Faber would be interested in performing the grind and overlay portions of the contract work during the evening hours (8p.m. to 6 a.m.), as to not impact traffic too greatly or create safety issues due to congestion,” Ruben Hernandez, Faber’s civil project manager, said in a letter to the city.
Slow traffic has been reported recently on Woburn and Alabama streets during peak commuter times, via social media and reflected on Google Maps.
Asphalt overlay work will take place on Woburn and Yew Streets at night during the week of April 22-25.
“Additional paving work will continue once the weather is warmer and drier in spring 2024. At this time, we will re-pave Woburn Street from Texas Street to Barkley Boulevard,” the city said at the project website.
Woburn Street is a key north-south route in Bellingham, with 19,700 cars and trucks traveling the section from Barkley Boulevard to Alabama Street every day, according to a 2018 traffic count. Some 11,300 cars a day use the part from Alabama to Iowa streets and 13,100 daily cars use the part from Iowa to Fraser streets.
