FALL CITY, Wash. — The state is still making repairs to roads and bridges after the devastating floods over the last year. Work is moving to SR 202 near Fall City this week, creating a 16-mile detour for people trying to get around the area.
The Snoqualmie River came close to taking out SR 202 in Fall City. The raging water nearly undercut the road just east of the roundabout where SR 202 and SR 203 converge.
“This area has experienced erosion in the past, but the recent storms from December and March significantly accelerated the erosion at that location, so much so that the distance between the riverbank and the highway lost about 15 feet,” Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spokesperson Elizabeth Mount said.
The damage was so severe that workers need to get in there now to protect the road.
“It created an urgent need to stabilize the embankment and protect SR 202 before the next rainy season,” Mount said.
Starting Wednesday, work on those repairs will get underway.
For the next two days, SR 202 will be down to alternating traffic in the area, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., so the contractor can set up the work zone, and then the road will be closed entirely for the weekend. SR 202 will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
Drivers will face 16-mile detour, 45-minute delays with SR 202 closure
Local traffic will have access up to the closure point, but people trying to go through the area will face a 16-mile detour. You will have to use Snoqualmie Parkway, I-90, and the Preston-Fall City Road to get around this.
“We really appreciate people understanding the emergency nature of this work and why it needs to happen and recognize that this is going to put a damper on some people’s days with that extra travel time, but it’s really important that it gets done,” Mount said.
You should expect 45-minute delays, at a minimum. People with games at the Preston Park fields should also expect a lot of extra congestion and company over this weekend.
Workers need to put a giant crane on the road to move massive logs into place to stabilize the embankment.
“They’re going to take large logs and jam them into the embankment and use that as a base to rebuild,” Mount said. “They’re going to then take other woody material, boulders, rocks, and build up that embankment.”
The new ground will then be covered with even more material to strengthen it.
Longer closure planned for weekend after Seafair
You should also expect impacts if you plan to use the Snoqualmie River during this work, including boat launches. There is in-water work being done at the site as well.
And this is just the first of two weekends of closures. The contractor will be back the weekend after Seafair with an even longer closure.
“It’ll be a little bit more significant as far as the timeline. It’ll be Thursday, 9 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, and that’ll happen in two weeks. So think about those dates as well coming up while you’re making any sort of weekend travel plans for early August,” Mount said.
Nearly 10,000 drivers use this section of SR 202 every weekday. Weekend traffic volumes can vary, but this road is well used on sunny, summer weekends.
Chris Sullivan is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Follow KIRO Newsradio traffic on X.