Video: Road repair costs soaring

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SNOQUALMIE PASS – Road repair costs from last week’s floods are already soaring into the tens of millions of dollars, and that’s just the beginning.

On state highways alone, there were 138 incidents – washouts, mudslides, water over the roadway – and many of those left damage behind.

At one point, the Snoqualmie River blew out some 2,000 cubic yards of asphalt, concrete, rock and dirt.

But contractors are making rapid progress. The highway between the towns of Fall City and Snoqualmie should be open Thursday.

The amount of road damage is staggering. A very early state estimate places the losses at $47 million -- a number that's expected to go much higher, especially as more becomes visible as the last of the high water remains.

“With the snows banks and everything, there's probably some damage we haven't found yet,” said Alan Minerich, who is in charge of maintenance along Interstate 90 up and over Snoqualmie Pass.

A contractor is busy at work just trying to get snow and mud off the shoulders so DOT inspectors can find out if there's anything holding up the shoulder underneath. And while I-90 is open, there's a warning about literal pitfalls that plague the shoulder.

“Please do not drive or park on the shoulders from North Bend to Easton,” said Minerich.