One-lane bridge reconnects neighborhood cut off by mudslide

INDEX — Saturday’s ribbon-cutting for a new bridge over the South Fork Skykomish River comes with a sigh of relief in a private community that has been without vehicle access since a 2013 mudslide.

Debris started coming down a hillside in December, cutting off the neighborhood east of Sunset Falls. Mud still blocks Mount Index River Road, necessitating a hike along an 1,100-foot trail and then a walk or drive of up to another three miles, depending where one lives and whether there’s a vehicle available.

More than 250 property owners were affected, including about 100 full-time residents. On Thursday, some were able to drive to their homes from U.S. 2 for the first time since the private road was blocked.

The long-awaited one-lane bridge over the Skykomish, near Canyon Falls, is now the only way into the neighborhood by vehicle. But the Mount Index Riversites homeowners group has decided to deny bridge access to some isolated residents who are behind in payment of dues for road work.

The mudslide left the community strapped for cash. Riversites residents spent some $70,000 trying to clear the road before they ran out of money to pay crews.

In May, the group decided on a different solution. It inked a $500,000 deal with the Snohomish County Public Utility District to split the cost of the galvanized-steel truss bridge.

On Thursday morning, a handful of neighbors stood in the rain by the bridge, anticipating the approval of a county inspector — the green light for traffic to cross.

“Right now I’m so anxious, I feel like I’m about to go out on my first date,” joked Bill Stehl as he waited to cross.

About a third of the neighborhood’s homeowners have fallen behind on road dues. The Riversites board decided to deny those people an access code needed to cross the bridge unless they start paying down their debt.

“This bridge seems like the perfect opportunity to get people to pay up,” said Lynne Kelly, a Riversites board member. “We’ve never had that kind of leverage before.”

Kelly said that blocking people from their property could result in a lawsuit, but Riversites badly needs the money. Those who are one to 12 months behind on road dues must start paying at least $50 a month to use the bridge. People who haven’t paid in more than a year are expected to contribute $100 a month or more.

“We felt like that was reasonable,” said Earl VanBuskirk, the board’s vice president.

After the deadly Oso mudslide on March 22, Mount Index was included in county, state and federal emergency declarations. The homeowners did not receive federal aid money, but the disaster declaration allowed the community to sidestep bureaucratic hoops and expedite the bridge permitting process.

After eight months of people struggling to haul in basic necessities, tension has been high. It wasn’t Oso. But it has been a hardship.

The mudslide took out a cabin and damaged power lines, causing more than a dozen outages and a fire. People were forced to live with no services such as propane delivery or garbage pickup.

Anger and resentment grew as neighbors debated ways to solve shared problems and how to pay for them. Some resorted to making threats, including one man who was arrested last week after telling a PUD worker he was going to blow the bridge up.

“There’s a lot of frustration,” said Tom Grenier, the Riversites road chairman.

After months of hiking from the base of Sunset Falls through shin-deep mud with groceries, gas and supplies, Thom Boullioun said, he mostly gave up on going home. The retired Boeing worker, and his golden retriever, Bandon, have spent many nights since the slide sleeping in Boullioun’s truck or couch-surfing.

His neighbor, Jeff Smith, bought an all-terrain vehicle to get his necessities home after a trail was built into the blocked area last spring. Smith and his partner, Kainoa Marquis, both had back surgery several weeks before the mudslide. One of the couple’s three shelties, Wind, is suffering from a brain tumor. Smith said he has been unable to get the dog to a veterinarian.

Smith and others think the PUD took advantage of homeowners who were desperate to gain access to the neighborhood with the bridge deal. Smith, a real estate appraiser, said the community stood to gain far more from the permanent easement rights the utility won in negotiations.

The PUD needs access to Riversites roads to study a controversial plan to build a $123 million hydropower project near Sunset Falls. It is looking into the merits of putting a tunnel in a sharp river bend to collect water and send it to a powerhouse downstream.

“This the wrong place for something like that,” said Smith, whose cabin is near the proposed site. “Preserving the natural beauty does more for humanity than the power.”

Despite his concerns about the hydro project, Smith said, he doesn’t deny the need for the bridge. His partner, Marquis, said they tried to keep a positive attitude to get through the past eight months of hardship.

Along the walking trail into the neighborhood, the couple recovered a muddy, stuffed bear that had been separated from its owner in the slide. It had become a sad but familiar sight to many on the tiresome route.

The couple cleaned the bear up and named it Hope. In an effort to demonstrate the community’s progress, they started posting Facebook photos of Hope in various places, including a construction worker’s backhoe and most recently on the completed bridge.

“We rescued Hope as a symbol of survival of this whole thing,” Smith said. “If that bridge wasn’t built, this community would be gone.”

Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Search underway to find missing Everett child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday morning at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.