Stehekin road rebuild placed on temporary hold; Holden Village access road being discussed

Stehekin River water run off along Corduroy Rd., March 25, during rain storm. Photo courtesy: Joe Kitchell.

Construction on the rebuilding of Company Creek Road in Stehekin, portions of which were washed out when the Stehekin River forged a new path during December storms, appears at a standstill.

"it does not appear there has been much on the ground work," Chelan County Natural Resources Director Mike Kaputa told the county commissioners on Monday. "The (U.S. Army) Corp of Engineers has placed a temporary hold on the on the ground work."

Kaputa says the new alignment of the access road is still a contentious issue, as the National Park Service has proposed aborting the building of the new road at its west terminus with private property.

"The amount of rock has doubled in quantity," Kaputa added. "They're going to bring in twice as much as we had brought in." It's estimated that up to $1.2 million dollars in rock and material has been barged in for the road rebuild.

The commissioners, at the request of State Senator Keith Goehner, inquired about the involvement of the federal government, particularly the U.S. Department of the Interior.

"The concept would be that someone from the department of the Interior would get the information that the Park Service already has and make a decision that is more favorable," Kaputa shared.

On today’s agenda on the Chelan Ranger District, is fixes to the storm damaged forest service road leading into Holden Village.

"They did receive a Corp of Engineers permit for Moonlight Bay," said Kaputa. "They also received (Chelan) PUD authorization to operate there. It looks like, this year, they may be able to do some emergency work on that road."