Washington state’s historic storms in December destroyed homes, properties, and businesses. It also decimated many of the state’s roadways.
US 2 between Coles Corner and Leavenworth was hit exceptionally hard with toppled trees and eroded sections of roadway.
The damage was so severe that a portion of US 2 was closed to all vehicles while the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) worked to reopen the highway.
Crews working with WSDOT operated around the clock to make temporary fixes to get traffic moving through this heavily used highway, including freight trucks.
That work was completed more than a month ahead of schedule, allowing the road to reopen to normal traffic on Feb. 10. The temporary repairs allowed the road to reopen to traffic as quickly as possible. Now, WSDOT can move forward with permanent repairs with the warm and dry summer weather.
Lane restrictions begin July 7
The repairs and closures will be from milepost 85 to 99 and will include slowdowns, single-lane closures, pilot cars, and flaggers throughout most of the month. A detour will be in place for a four-day full closure from Monday, July 13, through Thursday, July 16.
Work is expected to begin on Tuesday, July 7, with crews working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday to Friday that first week. The following week, on Monday, July 13, the highway will be fully closed 24 hours a day through Thursday, July 16. The road is expected to reopen on the evening of July 16.
Starting Friday, July 17, single-lane closures with flagging and pilot cars will resume from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., continuing Monday through Thursday each week through the end of the month.
This work requires dry weather, and some dates could be adjusted due to rain.
Detour route for July 13-16 full closure
During the full highway closure, traffic will be detoured at mileposts 85 and 100 onto Chumstick Highway for westbound traffic and onto State Route 207 and Chumstick Highway for eastbound travelers.
Chumstick Highway allows no traffic heavier than 26,000 GVW, meaning freight and some other large vehicles will need to find alternate routes, such as I-90.
This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
Nate Connors is a traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio. Follow him on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.
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