U.S. Highway 12 was closed in both directions Tuesday after this washout near White Pass.
U.S. Highway 12 was closed in both directions Tuesday after this washout near White Pass.
U.S. Highway 12 was closed in both directions Tuesday after this washout near White Pass.
U.S. Highway 12 near the White Pass summit could open for one lane of traffic by Thursday depending on an assessment from state Department of Transportation geotechnical engineers at the scene of a washout along a steep embankment adjacent to the roadway.
The roadway remains closed in both directions for about 45 miles from milepost 183 near the Oak Creek feeding station to milepost 138 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and state Route 123.
“It will not reopen today,” WSDOT regional administrator Don Whitehouse told The Chronicle Wednesday afternoon. “Geo techs are on site assessing the stability of the entire area. If and when we get the approval, we will construct a detour into the hillside and try to get one lane alternating traffic back and fourth.”
If one-lane is allowed to open, WSDOT crews would begin paving the shoulder and ditch and make the one lane as close to the hillside as possible, Whitehouse said.
The alternating lane could be opened by Thursday.
If the geotechnical engineers decide the washout near milepost 154.5 just east of the White Pass summit is still too unstable, repair work will begin to build a new retaining wall.
The roadway would stay closed while crews work.
The estimated cost to repair the washout is about $800,000 with a timeline of 30 days.
“We hope have this done in 30 days,” Whitehouse said. “I don’t know if this is possible or not at this point, but that is our goal to restore the roadway in 30 days.”
State Route 410 and state Route 123 are the alternate routes. However, WSDOT said commercial traffic is prohibited on both alternate routes. Commercial traffic may also be restricted on the one-lane if it opens later this week, Whitehouse said.
About 1,800 cars per day drive through White Pass on U.S. Highway 12, according to WSDOT.
Crews closed the roadway Tuesday morning after learning about the washout, which is about 120 feet wide and growing south of the roadway.
Several days of heavy rain combined with erosion and a slope failure caused the washout, Whitehouse said.
Local access is allowed on U.S. Highway 12 with eastbound traffic allowed to proceed from the closure west of the summit near milepost 138 to the summit near milepost 151.
From east of the summit, westbound local traffic will be allowed to proceed from the closure near milepost 183 to milepost 158 near the upper intersection with Tieton Road.
The washout of U.S. Highway 12 is similar to an incident in 1995, according to WSDOT.
