SEATTLE -- A new rockslide is restricting access to Chuckanut Drive (SR 11) about four miles south of the Whatcom-Skagit county line at milepost 9.7, said the Washington State Department of Tranportation.

The slide occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. and spilled nearly a dump-truck load of rock on the road. This is the fourth slide in 15 days to block Chuckanut Drive.

Maintenance crews have cleared the rocks from the road and are temporarily allowing one lane of traffic through the area.

Geotechnical engineers – already on SR 11 inspecting the site of a previous rockslide – determined that the new slide destabilized a portion of the hillside approximately 80 feet above the road.

WSDOT will hire a contractor to remove the unstable rock before reopening the road. This work will completely close the road, and crews estimate that it could take two to four days to complete.

Several homes and businesses are north of the slide. Crews will do everything possible to maintain safe emergency access for residents and business owners while they stabilize the area.

The latest slide is several miles south of a large rockslide that occurred Nov. 10. Contractors are currently at that site removing loose rock and stabilizing the hillside.

In the last two weeks, rockslides have happened on Nov. 4, Nov. 7, Nov. 10 and now Nov. 19.