SNOQUALMIE PASS — Westbound Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass reopened late Tuesday afternoon after rocks earlier rolled down a slope and were hit by three vehicles, the Washington state Transportation Department said.
A geotechnical expert who checked the area said it was sufficiently stable with the addition of a concrete barrier to deflect any new falling rocks, Transportation Department spokeswoman Meagan Lott said. Officials opened one westbound lane at 4 p.m. and hoped to reopen the second within a few hours.
The rocks that came down before 5 a.m. Tuesday about six miles east of the summit were hit by two trucks and an SUV. One man was treated for a minor injury.
Eastbound traffic was not affected.
The rockslide came down west of the old snow shed that was removed last April, Lott said. It’s in the same area where there has been a lot of blasting in recent years and where bolts have been drilled to secure the rock face. It’s part of a project to improve the interstate over the mountain pass, especially for winter travel.
It’s impossible to tell if the rockslide was caused by the blasting and drilling or a consequence of heavy rain in recent days in the area known for instability, she said.
A 40-year-old man in the SUV was treated for a minor injury at Kittitas Valley Healthcare hospital in Ellensburg. A 37-year-old man in the SUV was checked at the hospital as a precaution, State Patrol Trooper Darren Wright said.
One truck and the SUV were totaled, the State Patrol said. The other truck was able to drive away.
The “good-sized” rocks had been pushed to the side of the road, and the damaged vehicles had been removed by 9 a.m. But the westbound lanes remained closed as officials checked the safety of the scene.
“It’s scary to have something big in the road when you come around a corner,” Wright said.
The landslide danger remains high in western Washington because of the heavy rain that fell Sunday and Monday in a storm. Landslides closed highways in several places, and a landslide at Hoquiam knocked three houses off their foundations.
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