WSDOT

I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass

SEATTLE -- US 2 reopened over Stevens Pass Thursday afternoon, after a two-day closure caused by weather-related conditions.

Eastbound US 12 is also open at White Pass. Westbound is now open at milepost 185, the junction of SR 410 to milepost 130 near Packwood. US 12 remains closed west from Packwood, milepost 130 to milepost 97 at Morton. Traction tires are advised.

Interstate 90 through Snoqualmie Pass remains closed.

"We will not open the passes unless they're safe," State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said at a press conference. "We need it to be safe for the crews as they work to clear the passes."

I-90 is closed from milepost 33 near North Bend to milepost 106 near Ellensburg. WSDOT says the area is being threatened by avalanche danger, washouts, mudslides and roadway erosion.

"We have currently 1,200 Wash. DOT crew as well as state patrol and some National Guard on the westside here helping us to keep drivers safe and to continue to monitor and work to get roads open," Hammond said. "We're experiencing avalanches, mudslides and flooding."

Traction tires are required for passenger vehicles at Stevens Pass. WSDOT expects the route will be heavily used and will have three response teams stationed in the area to quickly respond to motorists in need of assistance.

Trucks trying to get freight into central Washington have been completely cut off by flooding on Interstate 5 and snow in the mountains.

Hammond says there's no good way around the road closures.

A truck traveling north from Portland to Seattle would need to take a 440 mile detour.

Hammond says 10,000 trucks travel on I-5 each day and another 7,000 move freight across the Cascade Range.

She estimates the economic impact of just the I-5 closure is $4 million a day.