US 2 Remains Closed Second Time Since Monday In Douglas County

U.S. Highway 2 in the Waterville Plateau remains closed for a second time since Monday because of washouts from mudslides.

The roadway originally closed late Monday afternoon, but then reopened to single lane alternating traffic Monday night before closing down once again Tuesday afternoon.

State Patrol Trooper Jeremy Weber traveled the highway after it reopened, and says it's hard to overstate the damage done by the mudslide.. 

"The eastbound lane is gone, completely eroded away," said Weber. "So, that's gone and a lot of the guardrail in the area. It's going to be a big job."

The road is closed off at SR 172 near Farmer to SR 17 west of Coulee City, which mirrors the first closure.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) shut down the highway the second time after its personnel surveyed the area Tuesday.

WSDOT is recommending travelers use SR 17 north to SR 172 or SR 17 south to SR 28 as an alternate route.

There's no estimate of when the road will be fully repaired and reopened. 

Weber says it definitely won't be an overnight fix. 

"I stopped by on the way down and just, kind of, took a look at the area and took a few pictures and talked to the crew," Weber. "And their eyes were just big. It's a pretty significant deal." 

US 2 Remains Closed Second Time Since Monday In Douglas County.

The portion of the roadway with the biggest damage took out the eastbound lane and the westbound upslope passing lane, leaving one westbound lane passable. 

When the highway was briefly reopened, there was single lane flagger controlled traffic with a pilot car for a two mile stretch in Moses Coulee from mile marker 167 to mile marker 169 in Douglas County.