City ditches Bell Road grade separation for streetlights and bypass lanes

The city of Blaine is seeking $3 million in state funding for streetlights and bypass lanes at the Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive intersection that will hopefully reduce congestion and delays, according to the city of Blaine’s 2021 legislative
priorities.

Previously, the city’s intention was to build a grade separation crossing on Bell Road over the train tracks – often the cause of long delays when a train is present – but after a series of meetings in June and July 2020 between city staff and Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) staff, with consultation from city council, the project was deemed too expensive, city manager Michael Jones said. They estimated starting cost of the project was $50 million.

The total cost of the project is now $3 million, $1.55 million originally for the grade separation and an additional $1.45 million for the new scope of the project. The city will also utilize $475,000 from Transportation Benefit District revenue and WSDOT local programs funding, according to the legislative priorities.

To raise the road over the tracks, Jones said the city would have needed to buy out businesses to acquire enough land necessary for the incline.The incline necessary for a grade separation crossing would have had to start as far as the Dakota Creek bridge, Jones said, which the city would also have needed to rebuild. This would have made the driveways for all the businesses in between the intersection and bridge inaccessible, eliminating any possible business, he said.

“The fixes would have been too disruptive to the area,” Jones said. “It was a non starter at that point.”

Jones said WSDOT examined other possibilities like a roundabout, alternative areas for a grade separation or even taking out the stop signs on one road to clear any right-of-way confusion. But based on the evaluation of alternatives, the city and WSDOT decided an at-grade, signalized intersection with bypass lanes would be the best, most affordable option.

Bell Road connects the communities of Birch Bay and Semiahmoo with downtown Blaine and Interstate 5. Long lines at the intersection can be expected during rush hour or whenever a train is present.

Another concern, Jones said, are the significant traffic delays stalling emergency vehicles.

Trains can also move slowly through the intersection if undergoing inspection at the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System south of the intersection, Jones said.

A new inspection facility is in the works north of Marine Drive near the border that Jones said may cause less delays,

Blackbird Coffee barista Alyssa Cranefield, who works on the corner of the intersection, said she sees the most backups between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and when there’s a train passing.

Calling it a “catawampus intersection,” Cranefield said she also sees delays when drivers do not know when it is their turn to cross because of the angle of the four-way intersection.

Jones estimated the project would take two years to complete, one year to plan and another for construction.

“But it is dependent on getting funding from the state,” he said. “We are hoping to be included in a transportation fund from the state soon.”