Fix to slide above South Lakeshore Road described as a costly conundrum

South Lakeshore Road rockslide. Photo taken from a drone by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

A persistent rock and dirt slide along South Lakeshore Road, west of Chelan, will keep the road closed to through traffic as the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) decides on an affordable and long lasting remedy.

WSDOT said on Facebook that, "The road will remain closed through the weekend and into early next week."

A large section of the hillside sloughed off in the early morning hours of March 3, leaving large boulders exposed shadowing over over the road.

An expert group of geologists and WSDOT engineers have looked over the slide area and provided options for stabilizing the hillside.

"We could do selective area mitigation; identify current problem areas," said Lauren Loebsack, WSDOT Communications Manager. "Extensive scaling and netting and dowels and that's done over that nearly three-quarters of a mile to a mile of problem slope. That cadillac job is really (going to cost) in the several millions."

“There is no perfect fix on the hillside,” Loebsack told KOZI. "It's a conundrum."

Experts working on the project met Thursday to discuss how to obtain the necessary funding to move forward on stabilizing the hillside. One idea is to take funds set aside for a SR 97-A tunnel illumination upgrade project. The tunnel project involves staging scaffolding inside the tunnel to repair or replace aging electrical and lighting. The tunnel project, when it occurs, will necessitate a 14-day closure of the highway. During construction, traffic will be re-routed on SR 97.

WSDOT has no specific dates scheduled for the 97-A tunnel illumination upgrades. The project guidelines say there will be no work done between July 4 and Labor Day.

Receive real time updates on road closures and other traffic alerts on state highways here or on the WSDOT Facebook page here.