Crews are optimistic SR 20 could reopen by May
STAFF REPORT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 7 months AGO
The Royal Register News
TWISP - A five-man maintenance crew and their collection of snow-clearing equipment headed west up State Route 20, past Mazama, on Monday for the first day of work to clear the North Cascades Highway.
Washington State Department of Transportation crews began clearing the four feet of snow at the east side barricades, which have closed the road to traffic since Nov. 21. WSDOT's annual reopening work started almost three weeks earlier than last year.
"Last year we opened in late May, and that means visitors coming to Winthrop's 49'er Days festival had to use Stevens Pass to get here," said Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker. "We know that was hard on drivers, so we're hoping that this year, we can get the highway open by the first weekend in May."
West-side crews near Diablo can't begin work yet due to heavy snowfall - nearly 10 and a-half feet at Rainy Pass as of March 23.
During a scouting trip up the highway on March 7, crews found snow up to 60 feet deep burying the road below the Liberty Bell Mountain avalanche zone.
Last year, late-season snow from the La Nina winter led to the second-latest reopening, on May 25, since the highway first opened in 1972.
Subscribe to receive e-mail updates during the reopening at www.wsdot.wa.gov/emailupdates.
ARTICLES BY STAFF REPORT
Connell woman killed in Booker Road crash
CONNELL — Charges are pending against a Kennewick man following a collision about 12 miles south of Othello that killed a Connell woman and injured three other people Tuesday evening. A Washington State Patrol press memo said intoxicating substances were a factor. Jessica Zarate, 37, Connell, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near the intersection of SR 17 and South Booker Road, the WSP memo said. She was driving south on Booker Road approaching the intersection when her car was hit by a pickup driven by John Reiss, 62, Kennewick. Edgar Garcia Quirino, 28, Othello, was driving north on SR 17 and ran into Zarate's car, the WSP memo said. The crash occurred at about 6:40 p.m.
Wheeler Road closed because of traffic collision
UPDATE: The road was reopened as of noon, according to a GCSO media release. MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s Office has announced there is a road closure between Road 3-NE and Road S-NE. There was a serious traffic collision. GCSO is asking for drivers to avoid the area and find alternative routes. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Doors opening: The Currents will provide homeownership for more local workers
About 104 homes are planned at the former Atlas sawmill site
Teachers, nurses, firefighters and other workers who keep Coeur d’Alene running will soon have more places to buy a home in the community where they work. About 104 homes are being planned to be built at Atlas Waterfront, on roughly 10 acres that are part of a swath of land that was once home to the Atlas sawmill and is being redeveloped. Ignite CDA, the city of Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, is leading this effort.