Date:
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Contact:
Jeff Adamson, North Central Region Communications Manager, Wenatchee (509) 667-2815, (509) 669-8778 Cell E-mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov
WENATCHEE - US 2 Stevens Pass reopened at 5 p.m. Sunday, February 10th after being closed by an avalanche on Friday morning at 10 a.m., joining Snoqualmie and White Passes which were already closed. All three remained closed on Saturday. Snoqualmie reopened shortly after midnight Sunday morning and White reopened at 9 a.m.
As the highway reopened, it was 29 degrees, snowing, with snow and slush on the highway. Traction tires are advised and oversize loads, prohibited. Power is still out at the summit so there are no traffic cameras and no variable speed limit signs, overhead electronic message signs or highway advisory radio. The Stevens Pass Ski Area will also remain closed through Monday.
The Stevens Pass closure began with a snow slide about 10 miles east of the summit in an avalanche zone that hasn’t been active since the 1970’s. Gaynor #2 (MP74) spilled more than 30 feet of snow across both lanes of the highway.
Over the next 24 hours:
- A second, larger slide came down from Gaynor #1 (MP73)
- A 200 by 35 foot slide came in three miles to the west of the summit from another long-inactive chute above Tunnel Creek (MP 63)
- An 18 foot deep snow slide covered both lanes above the East Portal of the BNSF Railroad tunnel (MP 71)
- Dozens of slides covered one or more lanes through a four mile section of Tumwater Canyon west of Leavenworth (MP 94-97)
The reopening effort was aided with crews and equipment from Northwest Region, Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad and the Stevens Pass Ski Area who worked around the clock Saturday to Sunday to remove the huge slide in the steep narrow Tunnel Creek Canyon.
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