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Bellingham Rock to be moved after 50 years along I-5
A longtime roadside landmark in Bellingham is set to be relocated as part of a state project. Crews will move the painted rock, a community tradition for decades, to a new public location.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - It’s a roadside landmark that generations in Bellingham have painted, posed with and made their own. But after more than 50 years along I-5, the Bellingham Rock is about to move.
Two big questions surround the move: where is it moving, and how do you move a rock that weighs more than 100 tons?
The Bellingham Rock along I-5 (FOX 13 Seattle)
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) isn’t releasing specific details about the rock’s new home, but said they’ve made an agreement with a Bellingham property owner who will take the rock and display it to the public.
What's next:
As for moving it, crews first need to remove the rock's iconic paint. The layers, built up over years and years, sadly has to go since some of it contains lead and other dangerous chemicals.
"We also have to remove the soil where the paint has dripped into because those paints are contaminated," said David Rasbach, WSDOT Communications.
Crews will then drill holes in a predetermined grid on the rock.
"Then we pour expansive grout and over 12 hours it sort of expands and cracks the rock," Rasbach said.
From there, they’ll move it, but it’ll be in pieces, and WSDOT isn't putting the rock back together.
What they're saying:
"It's a sad day in Whatcom County," said Keith Cook, a Whatcom County resident. He also runs the Bellingham Rock Facebook Page.
"Whether your team won, or there was a, you know, a death or a birth or a wedding or a victory. And people kind of give the background on what inspired them to paint the rock, and so that's what I really appreciate the most about it, is just the kind of the untold story," Cook said.
Cook said he’s disappointed the local landmark won’t be there for future generations.
The Bellingham Rock (FOX 13 Seattle)
Dig deeper:
WSDOT is moving the rock as part of the Fish Passage Project.
"The I-5 unnamed tributaries to Friday, Lake and Chuckanut Creek is correcting 17 barriers to fish migration. This is a project that all of the barriers that we’re correcting are part of the 2013 federal court injunction that WSDOT has to correct those barriers in western Washington," Rasbach said.
The entire process is expected to take several weeks.
"We took every measure we could to find the rock a good home and we’re documenting its history," Rasbach said.
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Historic Bellingham boulder to be removed
The fate of an historic landmark in Whatcom County hangs in the balance as a highway project threatens to roll right over it.
"I guess it's kind of sinking in, because it's happening right now," Cook said.
WSDOT adds that area is an active work zone right now. They’re asking people to stay away from there for their safety and the safety of the crews working. They told FOX 13 they'll attempt to document the rock’s journey as it moves.
In the meantime, Cook asks anyone with a rock story to share it on the Bellingham Rock Facebook Page, since the rock will soon be gone, but the Facebook page won’t be.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Bellingham Rock Facebook Page, and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.