Governor Ferguson announces reopening of west side of U.S. Highway 2
Restrictions will remain in place on east side; through traffic to Leavenworth should continue to use alternate routes
SKYKOMISH — Today, Governor Bob Ferguson announced that the west side of U.S. Highway 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass will fully re-open to traffic starting Sunday, Jan. 4.
The east side of Highway 2, between Stevens Pass and Coles Corner, opened with restrictions on Monday, using a detour and pilot car that operates 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those restrictions will remain in place for months.
“This is fantastic news – better than our best-case scenarios a few weeks ago,” Governor Ferguson said. “We understand that when a major highway is closed, the impacts to the community, to individuals and to businesses are significant. We have been very focused on getting Highway 2 as quickly as possible. I want to thank the WSDOT workers and contractors who have been working hard, 24 hours a day, to make this happen.”
“This is a great first step, it’s great news,” Skykomish Mayor Henry Sladek said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re just thrilled. I myself have a business here in town, it’s a small inn. Our business was impacted between 80 to 90%. So this is huge.”
Photos of today’s event are available here, provided by the Governor’s Office. Video of the press event is available here. Pool photos provided by The Seattle Times of repair work underway on Highway 2 are available here.
Be prepared and plan ahead
US 2 is an active work zone and delays are to be expected. Travelers should consider other cross-state travel routes, like Interstate 90 or US 12, when possible. Contractor crews continue repair work on the east side of Stevens Pass Resort through Tumwater Canyon. Travelers are asked to adjust to conditions during these limited reopenings, including following all signs and directions, not passing the pilot car or cutting the queue and planning ahead for winter weather.
Timeline
Several sections of US 2 were damaged and closed during the recent, historic storm and flooding. Crews have worked to clear and repair damaged roads and have reopened sections of US 2 as soon as it was safe to do so.
- Wednesday, Dec. 10: WSDOT crews closed the highway between Index and Coles Corner (mileposts 35-85) due to multiple washouts and mudslides.
- Thursday, Dec. 11: The closure was extended to include Tumwater Canyon on the east side (milepost 99) of the pass.
- Friday, Dec. 12: Crews were able to clear the roadway to Skykomish (milepost 50) on the west side.
- Thursday Dec. 18: Emergency repairs began on US 2 over Stevens Pass between mileposts 58 and 70.
- Saturday, Dec. 20: Emergency work to remove debris on US 2 east of Skykomish began.
- Monday, Dec. 29: A pilot car began limited travel on US 2 between milepost 71 to the resort at milepost 64.
Real-time traffic information is available on the WSDOT mobile app and the real-time travel map. Current weather and highway conditions are posted on the WSDOT mountain passes webpage.
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