6/4/2013
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
UPDATE: One-lane traffic moving again on Idaho 52 in area of Sunday's rockslide
BOISE - Traffic is moving again on Idaho 52 in the area of Sunday's rockslide, with just one lane open in the quarter-mile stretch about seven miles north of Emmett. Flaggers are guiding traffic in an alternating pattern through the slide area.
The cause of the slide still hasn't been determined. The Idaho Transportation Department will keep the highway restricted until it is safe to reopen it completely. Additional experts will be on-site today to assess the canal and the slide. Temporary traffic signals will be brought in to regulate traffic through the area.
Two rock slides on consecutive days forced closure of Idaho 52 between Horseshoe Bend and Emmett this past weekend.
The department closed the highway between mileposts 37
and 45 at about 1 p.m. Sunday and began routing traffic onto Shell Rock
Road between Montour and Plaza roads in Gem County.
ITD
crews cleared debris that fell from a steep hillside above the highway
by mid-afternoon Sunday, but left the closure in place because of a
continued threat from the unstable slope.
Officials from the
Emmett Irrigation Company and a contractor inspected a canal above the
highway Sunday afternoon to determine the source of water that is
saturating the hillside. It is unknown whether that subsurface moisture
is coming from the canal, a spring or other source.
Sunday’s
slide and closure followed another in the same segment of the highway
that occurred Saturday evening. Traffic was reduced to a single lane and
was controlled by flaggers during Saturday’s event, from 7:03 p.m.
Saturday until 2:31 a.m. today.
ITD maintenance crews are unsure how long the latest closure will remain in effect.
Motorists
who normally would use Idaho 52 should call 5-1-1 or check the 511
Traveler Services website at 511.idaho.gov for the latest information.