BLEWETT PASS — U.S. 97 over Blewett Pass will reopen by 6 tonight after state crews repaired numerous washouts from last week’s flood.
A 38-mile section of the highway has been closed since the morning of Jan. 7, when rain and rapidly melting snow caused flooding that damaged the highway in at least three spots between Liberty and Peshastin. The road has been closed between the Big Y junction with U.S. 2 and the Lauderdale junction with Highway 970.
Crews have repaired three washouts near Campbell road, a blowout at Ruby Creek, a mudslide at Bonanza Creek and damage near Liberty, where Swauk Creek swept away 700 feet of highway shoulder, said Jeff Adamson, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The Swauk Creek washout also dug up several hundred feet of Verizon fiber-optic cable that had to be reburied, he said.
The highway sections were repaved Thursday, and crews are waiting until the new road surface dries before the highway opens. Adamson said the opening could be as early as 4 p.m. if it dries faster.
He said all the repair work is temporary and will have to be redone in the spring.
“We’re just hoping that it lasts until March or so without deteriorating into potholes,” he said, adding that paving usually requires at least 45-degree temperatures to cure. “We just did what we had to do to get the road reopened and functional.”
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