Stehekin storm damage repair and flood protection set to begin
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
In advance of spring runoff, flood fighting and flood protection will be going on simultaneously in Stehekin. A December storm rerouted the Stehekin River, devouring portions of Company Creek Road, limiting access to homes and private properties.
2,000 tons of rock has been brought in to assist Chelan County and the National Park Service (NPS) in rebuilding an elevated temporary access road.
The new road as proposed by NPS, "follows most of Corduroy Road, for the eastern portion of it, and then there's a little bit of an offset, maybe 100 feet or so from where the Courduroy Road is right now and then it swings back up, stays on higher ground to provide access," said North Cascades National Park Superintendent Danika Globokar at a virtual meeting Tuesday on storm damage repairs
Globokar said the new road will be 12 feet wide and rebuilt to withstand a 10-year flood event.
"The color of money that we received is specifically road money, Globokar added. "That can not be used for a levee. Our federal dollars can only be spent on federal property, which is why we have terminated it at the western extent. We recognize there is a gap from where our project that we can do ends and the legacy Company Creek Road."
"We don't have agreement yet with the area where this road would continue across private property and those discussions are ongoing," said Mike Kaputa, Chelan County Natural Resources Director. Kaputa says an easement, right of way or land acquisition or compensation are topics of discussions.
Some Stehekin Valley residents are skeptical of the National Park Service road rebuilding plan, questioning the ability of a new road to withstand elevated Stehekin River waters.
"As soon as the water gets up 4-5,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) it's going to be coming over the bank charging right into the curb of your road," John Wilsey told Globokar. "Looks like it's set up to fail to me."
Globokar said the with the road built to an elevation to withstand a 10-year flood event, with typical spring run-off events, it would be above that.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Rapid Response Team is expected to award a contract for the work by the end of the week. Globokar says a notice to proceed with the remedial work could come next week.
The National Park Service is excavating the damaged wastewater treatment plant property and conducting a perk test, measuring how fast water drains through soil, before proceeding with repairs.
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