Mudslide closes highway in Bellingham, Wash. near Canada-U.S. border

This photo from the Washington State Department of Transportation shows a semi-truck stuck in a mudslide on Oct. 27, 2024.

A massive mudslide closed the freeway south of the Canada-U.S. border in Bellingham, Wash. for nearly 10 hours on Sunday.

The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the closure of I-5, near the Iowa Street exit at 5:45 a.m., saying emergency crews had been called to the scene and that all northbound lanes were blocked and southbound traffic was also being impacted.

The highway reopened just before 3 p.m.

Earlier in the day, officials said walls and barriers had been damaged and a geotechnical assessment was required.

WSDOT shared photos of the damage to social media, showing a semi-truck stuck in the mud.

“This is going to take a while to clear everything and make necessary repairs. We have a lot of heavy machinery and personnel onsite working to clear debris,” an update from the agency said around 10:30 a.m.

“Crews estimate about 2,000 cubic yards of debris spilled across lanes of I-5.”

A detour was in place but WSDOT reported traffic was backed up for three miles, or about five kilometres. Drivers were being advised to use alternate routes or expect significant delays.