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Crews reopen Chuckanut Drive (SR 11) south of Bellingham today. The road was closed for nearly a month after two separate rockslides blocked the highway and destabilized the hillside above the road.

Chuckanut Drive is a beautiful scenic route that stretches 21 miles from Mount Vernon, Washington north to Bellingham. The famous road, once in the top 10 scenic drives in the USA, lays a narrow paved route along the only section of the Cascade Mountains that actually touches the salty sea water of the Puget Sound.

This technical terrain is what sparks such fire in the hearts of local motorcyclists. The geography on all sides of Chuckanut Drive causes somewhat regular closures of the road due to rockslides.

The most recent closure was due to a rockslide on Nov. 23 that occurred two miles south of the Whatcom/Skagit county line (milepost 11.8), and completely closed the road. There was a second rockslide on Nov. 26 that was within the Bellingham city limits, between Spokane and California streets (milepost 18.3). Crews were able to reopen that section of highway to one-lane alternating traffic within a day.

Crews removed approximately 125 yards of loose rock and debris from the Nov. 23 slide location, and approximately 60 yards from the Nov. 26 location. The cleanup cost WSDOT approximately $300,000, and $100,000 for the city of Bellingham.

Long story short, the famed Chuckanut Drive is ready for two-wheeled enjoyment along the entire 21-mile stretch of the road.

Check out Unwrapping the fine curves of Chuckanut Drive to see what the road offers to riders under the blue skies of the summer months. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great route to explore during the winter months. like bookends, the fine coffee and bakeries in Bellingham and Mount Vernon are great places to stop and warm up.

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