COWLITZ COUNTY, Wash. — It’s been a busy few days as workers start the process of constructing a temporary fix to a massive problem. Work began on Monday to repair the damage done to State Route 504, the Spirit Lake Highway leading up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory on Mount St Helens.
An aeriel view shows what happened to the highway, with 300,000 cubic yards of debris dropping 2000 feet with great force, wiping out an 85-foot bridge on the highway.
KGW got a closer look at the damage with Washington State Department of Transportation Project Engineer Paul Mason, who said the slide on May 14 went on for a full half hour, according to seismic data.
“A typical dump truck carries 10 cubic yards, so every minute 120 dump truck loads of material was funneling through this area, it just would have been breathtaking to see. Fortunately, nobody was hurt or injured as a part of this event,” said Mason.
The slide stranded several people up at Johnston Ridge Observatory. They were airlifted out by a sheriff’s helicopter back in May. Weeks later, their vehicles are still stuck.
That problem will be solved when the repair work is complete in the next four to six weeks. The culverts are in place to drain the remaining runoff and the earth built up to support a narrow roadway.
“That will restore a single lane with stop signs on either side,” said Mason.
The highway won’t reopen to the public this season. It is closed at the Hummocks Trail parking lot a few miles back from the slide.
KGW spoke to one couple who came from the Netherlands to see Mount St. Helens.
“It’s too bad, we’ve traveled 8000 miles to get here and now we can’t get there,” said Ronald Smolders.
They understand that the mountain itself is an example of the force of nature.
“What happened it’s awesome, you can’t imagine how big the magnitude is of the slide,” said Smolders.
To be clear, it is still well worth the drive out SR 504 to get a look at Mount St. Helens. There are several viewpoints along the way. You just won’t be able to go all the way to Johnston Ridge until the summer season of 2024. At that time, the current one lane solution will still be in place as engineers design a long-term solution.