State hopes to reopen damaged U.S. 2 between Skykomish and Stevens Pass by Nov. 25

SKYKOMISH, Wash. -- The Washington State Department of Transportation said Thursday it is working to get traffic moving again on damaged U.S. 2 between Skykomish and the summit at Stevens Pass by next Wednesday, Nov. 25.

“Our bridge engineers spent the morning assessing the damage to the bridge and developing a plan to restore traffic to this critical route,” said WSDOT Assistant Regional Administrator Dave McCormick. “A contractor will begin working tomorrow to reopen at least one lane of traffic before the Thanksgiving holiday.”

The damage is under a bridge east of Skykomish at Milepost 54.

The department said Tuesday’s storm washed away "a significant amount of soil that supports the bridge’s foundation. Before the bridge can reopen to traffic, WSDOT contractor crews must install a temporary support system underneath the southeast corner of the bridge."

Once the bridge is opened to one lane of traffic, WSDOT will use temporary signals to keep traffic moving. The signal timing will be set up to best accommodate peak traffic.