LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — KIRO 7 got an in-depth look at the massive washout on State Route 2 caused by historic flooding in early December.
The damage to infrastructure along the highway is significant, including loss of drainage systems, entire sections of road missing, and guardrails thrown into the river near Leavenworth.
Work to clean up debris and make small repairs in spots near Skykomish, Stevens Pass Summit, and Leavenworth is underway.
WSDOT crews near Leavenworth told Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison they are under a 30-day timeline to clean up debris and make repairs, but WSDOT Spokesperson Lauren Loebsack tells KIRO 7 they are not sure when the highway will reopen.
“People should prepare for an extended closure we just genuinely don’t know,” Loebsack said.
She tells us specifically near Leavenworth, they lost around 50 feet of the eastbound SR-2 lane, the drainage systems, and the guardrail.
Most of that fell into the river.
Sheriff Morrison tells us nobody was driving near that stretch of highway at the time, and nobody was hurt.
Loebsack said the crews are battling extreme damage and now winter weather. She tells us the crews can and will work in the cold, snow, and ice, but only as long as it is safe to do so. She said winter conditions are slowing down the work that needs to be done.
“There is times when those conditions and moving of the snow is going to be what they’re working on and they have to tackle that as it comes, so the timeline of when they open is difficult so early on,” Loebsack said.
Leavenworth business owners say the closure is hurting their Christmas rush.
Anita Hamilton, with Andreas Keller, tells us the week leading up to Christmas is usually much busier.
“We have thousands and thousands of visitors normally this time of year and you wouldn’t be able to sit here, but there’s maybe half a dozen people for lunch,” Hamilton said.
They tell us the first weekend after the damaging Atmospheric River, Leavenworth was a ghost town due to not having power.
Since then, the power is back on, and the businesses are open for tourists. She tells us the weekend went well, but weekdays are still proving to be slower.
Heidi Forchemer, owner of The Gingerbread Factory, says they hope all the small businesses can survive the hit in the long run.
“This lack of traffic is going to impact many of the small businesses, including ours,” Forchemer said.
Detours are in place, and Leavenworth is accessible via I-90 and Blewitt Pass instead.
Even Santa tells us he hopes to see more people visit him here soon.
“We are open for business, come to Leavenworth, it’s open, they’re ready for you, it’s time to celebrate together,” Santa said.