Glacier Creek Lodge and 14 ski cabins were up for bid in an unusual auction put on by the Washington State Department of Transportation last week.

About 70 people attended the Wednesday, Aug. 19, auction and 34 registered to bid on the structures, which have to be removed from the property by Sept. 30, according to the DOT.

Most of the cabins sold for anywhere from $5 to $275.

A short bidding war took place for one A-frame cabin. Bids started in $10 increments, but that accelerated and the cabin finally sold for $1,520, according to the DOT.

The Glacier Creek Lodge was purchased by several local residents who pooled their money and paid $2,700. The DOT said it did not know where they plan to take the lodge.

Also sold during the auction were a storage shed and a manufactured home. Total bids came to $5,341. Of the 18 structures available, only one storage shed did not receive a bid.

The structures were on 3.4 acres along Mt. Baker Highway purchased by the DOT as part of an $11.7 million project to tear down an older, low clearance bridge over Gallup Creek. Crews will replace the bridge with one that can withstand being slammed by heavy rocks and floodwaters during storm season.

By putting the structures up for auction, the DOT saved more than $110,000 by not having to tear them down and haul the materials to the landfill.

"This is a little kinder to the environment," said Cris Blankenship, of the DOT’s real estate services, in a press release. "Lots of people up here near Glacier have property but either don’t have cabins or want more cabins."

The money made at the auction will go toward the state motor vehicle fund that helps support other DOT projects.

Reach ISABELLE DILLS at isabelle.dills@bellinghamherald.com.