Date:  Sunday, October 11, 2009

Contact: Meagan McFadden, WSDOT Communications (509) 654-0697, 
Mike Westbay, WSDOT Region Communications Manager (509) 577-1617

US 12 White Pass and I-90 Snoqualmie Pass are open

YAKIMA- WSDOT and the Washington State Patrol (WSP) have closed a 47 mile section of SR 410 between Mount Rainier National Park's Lake Tipsoo and the junction with US 12, five miles west of Naches.

At 6 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, WSDOT closed SR 410 when a quarter-mile section of the highway was uplifted and pushed into the Naches River. The hillside continued to move, threatening more property damage and redirecting the river, so nearby residents (approximately 60) were evacuated. At that time, the Nile Road was available as a detour route. SR 410 was closed at the Lake Tipsoo parking lot in Mt. Rainier National Park and at mile post 108 (10 miles west of Naches).

Soon after the road closed, an Incident Command Center was established at the WSDOT Rimrock Maintenance Facility just west of the junction of SR 410 and US 12. Due to the continuous movement (slumping) of the hillside and the redirection of the Naches River channel, a power outage occurred for property west of milepost 107 (11 miles west of Naches).

At 10 a.m., the Nile Road was damaged by the landslide and is now under water and is no longer available as a detour route. Also at that time, the east end closure point was relocated to the junction of SR 410 and US 12 (5 miles west of Naches). The Bethel Ridge Road is now the exit route for evacuees. This gravel-surfaced mountain road is only available for local residents being evacuated due to the land movement and potential flooding.

"There are large sections of the highway buried or pushed into the river. The slumping of the hillside and the uplifting of the valley floor continues. It will take several weeks before we can have a new roadway constructed and ready for traffic," said Don Whitehouse, WSDOT Regional Administrator. The landslide continues to increase in size and widen to the east. Tom Badger, WSDOT Geo-technical Engineer, is on his way from Olympia to assess the unstable slope. Jason Smith, WSDOT Environmental Manager is on site assessing the environmental issues and has notified local agencies of the incident.

Meagan McFadden, WSDOT Communicator, is located at the Incident Command Center at the junction of SR 410 and US 12 (5 miles west of Naches). She can be reached for media interviews at (509) 654-0697.

DETOUR ROUTES

US 12 White Pass - is open with no restrictions.

I-90 Snoqualmie Pass - is open with two lanes available westbound and one lane available eastbound between Cle Elum and Easton. WSDOT traffic engineers were already predicting 20 percent higher than normal traffic volumes on Sunday. WSDOT is encouraging eastbound motorists to leave early or plan for an extra hour of travel time in the afternoon.

SR 123 Cayuse Pass - is currently open with no restrictions.

To view photos of the landslide that closed SR 410 visit: Flickr

For other travel impacts related to construction and maintenance projects visit: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Regions/SouthCentral/Construction/
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