Forest Road 23, located in the Gifford Pinchot national forest, slid away into the Cispus River during the recent flooding. FR23 connects the town of Randle to Trout Lake, just south of Mount Adams.
The floodwaters that covered East Lewis County back in December have since receded, but the evidence of their destructive power will remain on display for the foreseeable future. Numerous Forest Service roads in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest were hit hard during the flood events, especially well-traveled Forest Road 23, which was completely washed out in two stretches by the raging Cispus River.
So far, the Forest Service does not have a timetable for repairing and reopening the roads.
“That road is highly used. It goes to several recreation areas and it’s our through access for the Forest Service,” explained Sarah Rockey, district engineer for the Forest Service. “We don’t have a schedule set yet but we’re still going through the process.”
According to Rockey, that process started when her department sent a list of 32 damaged sites to the Federal Highways Commission for approval. That list was approved for Emergency Relief for Federally Owned roads (ERFO) funds on Jan. 29. Now the Forest Service must submit corresponding project reports to Western Federal Lands and wait for approval before they can move forward with repairs. Rockey noted that the deadline to submit those reports for review is April 29.
Forest Service Road 23 suffered extensive washouts at mileposts 12.5 and 24. As a result the popular road is currently closed at mileposts 11 and 25. Additional flood-related closures on Forest Service roads include Road 20 (milepost 5.8), 22 (milepost 5), 2322, 2324, 25 (milepost 11), 2513, 26 (milepost 8), 2750, 28 (milepost 9.1), 2809, 29 (milepost 7.6), 7605 (milepost 0.4), and 78 (milepost 1.6). Lastly, Forest Road 2801 and Skate Creek Road (FR 52) are both closed for the winter.
“The damage was extensive,” said Rockey of Forest Road 23, which suffered even worse washouts during the floods of 1996. Rockey added that Forest Road 23 typically closes itself down during the winter due to snow on the road. In normal years the road reopens itself once the snow melts sometime around June, but this year there is no telling when it will be back in shape.
“We don’t have a timeline yet as to when the 23 will be reopened, but we’re working as fast as we can,” said Rockey.
For more information, call the Cowlitz Valley Ranger Station at (360) 497-1100.
