Crews were able to clear enough rock and debris over the weekend from a landslide that covered North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan to open a single-lane bypass with limited hours as of Monday morning.
The road was open for two hours Monday morning and three hours in the evening. The limited hours are necessary so that crews can continue working the rest of the time to fully clear the highway.
Flaggers will control traffic during the openings, allowing vehicles to move in only one direction at a time on the single lane.
Ketchikan schools remained closed Monday, with additional cancellations on a “day-by-day” basis, Superintendent Michael Robbins told the Ketchikan Daily News on Sunday.
State and municipal officials said they would announce the next day’s road openings and closures each evening.
“Residents are strongly urged to use the bypass only for essential travel to minimize congestion and delays,” officials said Sunday evening.
The landslide occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday, March 20, coming down from the upland side of the highway at about Mile 3.1 in an area where a state contractor, SECON, has been working since early March on the Department of Transportation’s Wolfe Point Slope Stabilization Project.
There were no injuries in the rockfall.
According to notices from SECON, blasting to dislodge rocks began on March 6 and continued for six more days during the month. No blasting notice was issued for Thursday.
There were 1.81 inches of precipitation recorded at the Ketchikan International Airport the day before the slide and an additional 0.29 inches overnight, but only a fraction of an inch of rain fell in the hours before the slide.
The landslide cut off vehicle access between the north end of Ketchikan that includes Ward Cove, Revilla Road, Ward Lake and other areas along the approximately 15 miles of North Tongass Highway from the landslide site to the end of the highway.
By mid-afternoon the day of the slide, Allen Marine Tours had established a water shuttle service around the landslide site.
Work continued on the landslide slope on Sunday. The last two of four very large rocks that had sat higher up in the slope were removed, according to the borough officials. “However, as crews continue clearing debris, additional hazard blocks may be discovered.”
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