US 2 travel to reopen east of Skykomish by Sunday, Jan. 4

Pilot car operations also continue east of Stevens Pass Resort and a detour around Tumwater Canyon remains in place

SKYKOMISH - Another section of US 2 is reopening for limited travel following historic storms and damage. The new section - providing west-side Stevens Pass access between Skykomish and the Stevens Pass Resort - will reopen by Sunday, Jan. 4.

This section of the road, from milepost 50 to 64 on the west side of the pass, will be open in both directions. However, the road will close each night at 6 p.m. at the Stevens Pass Resort, because access on the east side of the pass is still limited to daytime and led by a pilot car.

Except for the Christmas Day holiday, crews have worked around the clock clearing debris and doing roadway and streambed repairs. The progress allowed inspections to take place which determined the road and bridges between Skykomish and Stevens Pass can handle limited travel.

This new section reopening to traffic is in addition to pilot car-led access on the east side of the closure that began Monday, Dec. 29, between the Stevens Pass Resort (milepost 64) and Mill Creek Road (milepost 71). A detour around a third section of damaged highway, around Tumwater Canyon using Chumstick Highway, also remains in place.

"We know how important US 2 access is for the success and vitality of communities and businesses and we are pleased that the quick work from our maintenance crews, inspectors and our contractor will allow us to open the road in a limited capacity," said Brian Nielsen, WSDOT Northwest Region administrator. "We will continue to repair the damage along US 2 from this historic storm."

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.