BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The City of Bellingham has declared an emergency to speed up repairs of public infrastructure damaged by heavy rain that caused flooding in other parts of Whatcom County last week.

Bellingham City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to approve an emergency declaration and waive competitive bidding requirements in its repair projects.

The projects covered by the emergency ordinance include culvert repairs at Hannegan Road and Woburn Street, as well as sink hole and erosion fixes at Little Squalicum Pier. Around 10 houses in the Lettered Streets neighborhood also experienced sewer backups and a watermain break flooded two more houses, which the city says it quickly addressed.

Repairs are expected to cost between $1 and $2 million.

Hannegan remains closed just north of Hannegan Speedway between Smith and Van Wyck Roads without an estimated time for reopening. Public Works director Joel Pfundt told the council that the amount of water that’s backed up over the road has made it difficult to determine what’s happening.

“It’s some combination of the culvert not functioning properly, but we’re not entirely sure why,” Pfundt said.

Woburn also remains closed for thru traffic between Iowa Street and Lakeway Drive.

Pfund also noted recent improvements made around the city that helped minimize the impacts of the flood conditions, including the new James Street and Meador Avenue bridges and upgrades at Padden and Squalicum creeks.

Overall, he says most trails, bridges and parks in the city only experienced minor issues aside from Little Squalicum Pier.

The emergency declaration will not apply to any damage caused by future events, including the second atmospheric river this week.