US-2 Through Tumwater Canyon To Re-Open Within Two Weeks – One Month Ahead Of Schedule

After being partially closed for the past eight weeks, it appears that U.S. Highway 2 (US-2) will be completely reopen sometime within the next two weeks - roughly a month ahead of schedule.

On Dec. 11, a 59-mile stretch of the vital roadway between Skykomish and the west edge of Leavenworth was closed due to severe damages caused by mudslides and flooding produced by a series of late-autumn storms.

In the weeks that followed, emergency repairs were made in several areas, allowing for much of the highway to reopen between Coles Corner and Skykomish - using pilot cars within a seven-mile section near the summit of Stevens Pass for about two weeks to start.

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The only portion of US-2 which didn't reopen within a month of the storms was a 23-mile stretch in Tumwater Canyon between Leavenworth and Coles Corner, where the most extreme damages had occurred - including the displacement of a large chunk of the roadway, which fell into the flooded waters of the Wenatchee River.

Although crews began working to repair the damage in Tumwater Canyon on Dec. 23, the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) initially speculated the fixes wouldn't be complete until sometime in March - and likely later in the month at that.
Now, DOT spokesperson Sebastian Moraga tells KPQ News that the required repairs will be wrapping up about a month ahead of schedule.

"It's because the weather has cooperated," explains Moraga. "This has allowed for more expeditious work to be done by our (DOT's) contractor. The milder-than-usual weather that we've had this winter has given crews more time to be out there each day, which has resulted in this very welcome bit of news for US-2 travelers."

Moraga says that as soon as the highway reopens it will effectively end the current detour route using State Route 207 and the Chelan County-maintained Chumstick Highway, and that there will be no pilot cars required or other delays expected within Tumwater Canyon.

He added, however, that although the highway will be fully usable and safe to drive once again, crews will be returning to the site later on this year to perform other important fixes and maintenance.

"The work will continue on this stretch of road that we'll be reopening in mid-February. There are certain things that still need to be done which require a warm-enough temperature twenty-four hours a day, and we're not there yet. So, this area will be revisited later. Not to the extent that we will need full closures again, but work zones will re-establish in that area after a few more months."

East Wenatchee-based Pipkin Construction is performing the emergency repairs on US-2 through Tumwater Canyon.