BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The effort to clean up a toxic waste site on the Bellingham waterfront is getting a financial boost.

The state Public Works Board voted earlier this month to give the City of Bellingham $7.3 million in low-interest loan funding for the Cornwall Avenue Landfill Site cleanup project.

The site, located at the south end of Cornwall Avenue, used to be a wood treatment facility and municipal waste landfill. An investigation into the site found approximately 295,000 cubic yards of municipal waste and 94,000 cubic yards of wood waste.

Roughly half of the $19 million cost of the project is being paid through state grants, while the city and the Port of Bellingham will cover the other half. The city says the recent loan will cover a significant portion of the local funds.

After the cleanup, the city plans to develop the area into the new Salish Landing Park to offer more public access to the beach.

Cornwall is one of 12 cleanup sites in the Bellingham Bay Demonstration Pilot project, which seeks to clear up and control contamination along the waterfront. The Cornwall project and the neighboring R.G. Haley cleanup project are currently in the permitting process and are both set to begin construction in 2025.