Some passes will open Sunday - WSU cancels classes Monday and Tuesday

Photo courtesy WSDOT

Update: Sunday, January 9, 2022- 4:00pm

Snoqualmie & Blewett passes will reopen at 5 p.m. today with a 45 mph speed limit & traction tires advised. Priority is to get freight traffic moving; recreational/general traffic should continue to delay travel.

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WSDOT made good progress clearing Snoqualmie, Stevens, White and Blewett passes on Saturday. 

There’s still a lot of work to go, but Snoqualmie and Blewett will reopen sometime Sunday. It will take longer to get Stevens and White reopened.

Snoqualmie: Using plows, blowers, and graders, they continue to clear snow and make sure hillsides are stable from earlier avalanche concerns. They are also clearing catch basins to allow for drainage from melting snow & rain

One of the tow plows - Plowie McPlow Plow - was moved from Spokane to Snoqualmie Pass to assist with the work. They are on track to reopen on Sunday. They will have a better sense for time late Sunday morning.

Blewett: Avalanche control was successful and crews continue to use a blower and plows to clear the highway. Davenport-based crews sent a blower to help. They are optimistic Blewett will open Sunday and will have a better sense for timing late Sunday AM

Stevens: Several snow slides produced areas of snow that stand 30-35 feet tall. One lane is open to allow crews further access for avalanche control and clearing work. Snow has built up in rare locations on the mountain and they may do avalanche control from a helicopter to knock those hazards down Monday. 

While not Stevens Pass, US 2 Tumwater Canyon east of the pass affects their ability to open Stevens. There have been 208 snow slides in Tumwater Canyon - about 25 slides per mile.

They continue to monitor conditions and work where it is safe to do so to get this stretch of highway open. At this time, it is unlikely Stevens Pass or Tumwater Canyon will reopen before Tuesday

White: While there is no remaining avalanche concern, there is still a substantial amount of snow and debris, including trees, rocks, etc., to remove. Crews have brought in an excavator to help but it is unlikely White Pass will open before Monday

WSDOT says "This has been a long, tough process and again, we appreciate everyone's patience while our crews work as fast and hard as they safely can to reopen. We will have another update Sunday morning."

Washington State University - Pullman

In the meantime, with so many of their students unable to get to school, the WSU Pullman campus will cancel classes on Monday, January 10 and Tuesday, January 11, 2022 to allow students time to return to Pullman safely following recent highway closures. 

All other WSU Pullman facilities and operations will be open normal business hours on Monday and Tuesday.