HOORAY! SR 20 North Cascades Highway to reopen Monday The North Cascades Highway (State Route 20) is scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m. Mon., Aug. 19. WSDOT maintenance crews will swing the closure gates open and remove the barricades to restore travel between the Skagit and Methow Valleys. Crews worked continuously since Sun., Aug. 11, to clear 30,000 cubic yards (3,000 dump truck loads) of mud, boulders, trees, and debris when a series of eight mudslides covered portions of the road along a six-mile stretch beginning the night before. Besides the clearing effort, crews need to repair pavement, drainage and guardrail that has been damaged before the road is safe to reopen. Even when traffic resumes, drivers can expect to encounter orange cones, signs, and other traffic control as crews continue work on drainage, slope stabilization, and other work. Heavy rain, hail, and high winds initially caused two mudslides that closed SR 20 two miles west of Rainy Pass at 9:30 p.m. Sat., Aug. 10. By Sunday, eight slides between MP 149 and MP 155 covered the highway at depths ranging from 3 to 25 feet and up to a quarter-mile wide. Photos of the slides and cleanup are posted on the WSDOT FlickR Web site: flickr/photos/wsdot/sets/72157635037166187/with/9496492120/
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 05:34:17 +0000
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