WSDOT Slope Project to Bring Closures to US 97A and SR 971

The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will pay a Kent-based contractor almost $2 million to remove nearly 15,000 cubic yards of material from problematic slopes in Eastern Chelan County.

WSDOT will pay Scarcella Bros. Inc. $1,909,090 for scaling work on six slopes; five on State Route 971/South Lakeshore Road and one on US 97A. The contractor will also repair wildlife fencing and pavement.

Rock scaling operations will require the full closure of a mile and a half of SR 971 east of Lake Chelan State Park, with a detour using US 97A and Navarre Coulee Road. The SR 971 portion of the project is set to begin March 7th and is expected to last 40 days.

Work on US 97A south of Entiat will start April 11th, with intermittent closures throughout the following two weeks. The section of road will be closed between 8:15 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. The roadway will open for 15 minutes at the top of every hour to allow traffic through the work zones.

Communications Manager Lauren Loebsack said working in the spring creates less congestion than in the summer when State Routes 97A and 971 see a lot of recreational traffic.

"This is definitely an ongoing thing. Rock slopes are very dynamic. Just changes in the weather affects the conditions out there and can loosen rock." explained Loebsack, "There's different solutions for different rock slopes depending on the height and the pitch of those slopes. So it is a very dynamic process ultimately."

Loebsack added that slope work across Washington is never really done. She described a large log of identified problem slopes throughout the state, with WSDOT chipping away at what they can with the funds available.