Landslide cleanup could keep Highway 30 closed into weekend

Dec. 1—A routine trip to work from Clatskanie to Astoria turned into an ordeal Wednesday for Mark Cope after a landslide closed U.S. Highway 30 the night before.

On Tuesday night, as heavy rain and wind lashed the North Coast, a slide — estimated at 110 feet wide — sent at least 1,800 cubic yards of mostly rock across the highway near milepost 74 about 20 miles east of Astoria near Wauna, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.

The state closed the highway to traffic from milepost 72 to milepost 76. While crews work to clean debris off the road, the closure was extended through Friday, with the potential that it could stretch into the weekend.

Shutting down the highway, one of the main routes between Astoria and Portland, caused disruptions across the region and forced some motorists to adjust their trips.

Cope, a press operator for The Astorian, took the Oscar B — the ferry between Westport and Puget Island, Washington — and drove on the Washington state side of the Columbia River to reach Astoria.

"It sucked because I don't drive that road very often," Cope said. "I'd much rather drive the 30 during bad weather and all."

Cope said the ferry was packed Wednesday morning with others who had the same idea.

Depending on the destination, the state recommended that motorists take U.S. Highway 26, Highway 47 and Highway 202 while the cleanup continues. But as snow and icy conditions become factors, the state issued cautions.

"26 gets a lot of snow, but it also gets a lot of attention from us," Mark Buffington, the district manager for the Department of Transportation on the North Coast, said. "202 would be more treacherous and we've had to really pay attention to it more so than we usually do because it's kind of a low volume, low priority highway. But right now, it's a detour, so we've had to pay a little more attention to its shape."

Buffington, who commutes from Kelso, Washington, has been taking Highway 47 and Highway 202 since the landslide.

On his way to multiple service calls in Astoria, Al Taylor, a technician with a security company from Portland, was also forced to reroute Wednesday.

"(The road) was clear but on my way home, it started snowing," Taylor, who took Highway 47 and Highway 202, said. " ... I had never taken it before. It was a windy, windy road."

Workers at the Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill who live west of Wauna have had to add several hours to their trips. The paper mill is among the region's largest employers.

"It's a long way," Buffington said. " ... I think that is who is really feeling the impact the most."

While mill workers who live on the east side of the slide are not impacted, Greg Hinkelman, the city manager in Clatskanie, said others in the area have been affected.

"From Clatskanie to Mist, it's 11 miles of twisting and turning and it's not conducive to somebody who gets carsick. And then let's throw snow on top of it," he said. "And it takes a lot longer to get to Astoria using 202."

The spot along the highway where the landslide occurred has long been vulnerable.

"As long as I can remember working in this area for ODOT, there has always been a rockfall issue there," Buffington said. "It's been screened to catch the loose stuff, but when the big stuff falls, it takes the screen with it."

During the cleanup, a geologist determined that two large sections of hillside on both ends of the slide may need to be removed if they are loose enough to slip onto the highway, Buffington said, which has caused delays to reopening.

A semitruck also had to be pulled from the pile of rocks after crews believe it crashed into the debris in the road after the landslide happened at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. The driver was not injured, Buffington said.

"We spent most of the day yesterday just digging that truck out of there," Buffington said of the work on Wednesday.

Buffington said he hopes to have at least one lane open with flaggers directing traffic by Monday.

"That's the goal. But I don't know if we'll reach it," he said. "These things are always full of unknowns."