YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Interstate 90 traffic is moving again over Snoqualmie Pass after an 11-hour closure for avalanche danger.
Cars and trucks waited until noon Tuesday at Ellensburg and North Bend for the Transportation Department’s green light.
Spokesman Mike Westbay in Yakima says the danger was created by heavy rain falling on the nearly 34 inches of snow that fell at pass over the weekend. He says officials were concerned about a blowout — when water builds up behind a snowbank and then bursts through with a whoosh of water and debris on the roadway.
Westbound traffic from the summit was reopened at 9:30 a.m. to allow local traffic off the pass.
Highway 2 across Stevens Pass also was closed for a time Tuesday for avalanche control.
