Slide shuts down Oregon’s I-84

CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. – A rockslide in the Columbia River Gorge has blocked all four lanes of Interstate 84, just west of Cascade Locks, transportation officials said.

The rocks came down near milepost 37, littering the highway with boulders and creating a bottleneck. Traffic was backed up in both directions and officials were working to get the cars turned around, said Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Dave Thompson.

Oregon State Police said they had received a report – but had not yet been able to confirm it – that a woman in a car had been injured in the rockslide, according to Lt. Gregg Hastings. “That’s the initial information. No one has actually been able to get there yet to determine if its true,” he said late Sunday night, speaking on a cell phone on his way from Portland to the scene.

“It apparently was a pretty large rockslide for it to block all four lanes,” said Thompson.