DOT: Just Don't Even Try To Cross The Passes
Double the normal traffic, throw in a runaway boulder during rockslide repairs and add some snow and ice.
The Department of Transportation says the final dish will leave you with a sour taste in your mouth.
State crews hoped they'd have more of I-90 open for holiday travelers. Instead, they have bad news.
"This entire mass you see here has become unstable," Regional Administrator Don Whitehouse says as he shows photos of the rockslide to KOMO 4 News.
The photos show where a boulder half the size of a car fell Monday afternoon.
Workers had been in a basket chained to the boulder - but noticed cracking and signs of stress and got out just in time.
"Workers were uncomfortably close to those rocks. Our experts who do this for a living were a little caught off guard there," says Project Manager Will Smith.
Now, crews are clearing out more loose rock.
Then they'll go back to bolting the rock face to stabilize it.
Their work zone can handle 800 cars an hour. But during Thanksgiving travel, 3,000 cars an hour travel the pass.
The state warns that could mean backups to Cle Elum and delays up to 16 hours.
Traffic nightmares also could develop on U.S. 12 through White Pass and U.S. 2 through Stevens Pass, the other two main cross-Cascade highways, if large numbers of travelers shift to those routes. The North Cascades Highway, Washington 20, has already been closed for the season.
If their doomsday predictions make you want to stay home, the state says, good.
"We're asking that people make other plans. Spend it with someone who is maybe less fortunate or spend it at home," says DOT's Terry Kukes. "Try to avoid traveling as much as you can."
Gov. Christine Gregoire has joined the State Patrol and the state Department of Transportation in an unusual plea for motorists to avoid cross-Cascades travel altogether during the long weekend.
"As much as we all want to be with loved ones, a trip across the mountain pass is not advisable," the governor said. "First and foremost, I want everyone to be safe and comfortable during the Thanksgiving week."
In its daily rockslide update Tuesday, the DOT led with this plea: "We know this is a sacrifice, but please avoid traveling across the Cascades during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend."
All three main routes will be "severely affected" and significant delays are certain, the agency said.
"Your safety is at stake if you get stuck on the pass," the department said.
If cross-state car travel is unavoidable, motorists should fill their tanks and carry a winter emergency kit, including food, water and blankets, the agency advised.
"We need your help" with the voluntary travel ban, chimed in Patrol Chief John Batiste.
But not going is not an option for the Estes family, heading to visit grandparents in Yakima. They'll come home on Saturday, a heavy travel day.
"Not looking forward that," says Chad Estes. "We'll try to avoid it. If we have to go earlier or later, just kind of work around it, see what happens."
There are no predictions of when work will wrap up.
Crews say they are frustrated to not be farther along, but they can't rush the job.
"Our geologists and contractors kept evaluating. They made up a plan based on what they could see. Obviously that has not gone as well as any of us had hoped," says Smith. "I can be optimistic and say pretty soon, but who knows what'll happen. We're doing our very best."
And here's the newest hazard: With just one more major snowstorm, the pass enters avalanche season. Snow is in the forecast for all mountain passes on Sunday.
If there's a backup through the work zone, drivers could be sitting ducks.
"They could be," agrees Avalanche Control Supervisor Craig Wilbour. "But we're not going to let that happen."
Wilbour says he'll consider metering traffic to avoid huge backups and do more frequent avalanche control work.
The final warning from the DOT -- Stevens and White Pass could be just as bad. They can't say enough to stay home this Thanksgiving.
Another Alternate Route:
If you must get from one side of the state to the other, and the passes become a mess as predicted, there is one other alternate route that is seldom advertised: I-84 through the Columbia Gorge along the Oregon/Washington border.
To get there from the general Seattle area, take I-5 south to Portland and pick up 84 east there. From eastern Washington, you can take I-82 south or US-97 south to meet up with I-84. This route is considerably longer, distance wise, and depending on when you're going, you'll have to deal with Portland's holiday traffic, but overall, traffic might be moving a whole lot faster.
Working with Mapquest.com, it estimates in *normal* traffic from Seattle, about a 3 hour drive to Portland, and then another 3.5 hours or so to Pasco via I-84 and I-82. Of course, that time will likely be longer during increased holiday traffic, but it might still be faster than being stuck in the passes.
This route also avoids elevation, which might be a factor on Sunday with heavy mountain snows expected.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report