Driving from Seattle to Tri-Cities this weekend? 2 reasons it will be a slower drive

Tri-City residents heading across the Cascade Mountains this weekend should be ready for some slow travel on the way home, both because of a partial collapse of an embankment under Interstate 82 and heavy snow at Snoqualmie Pass.

The Washington state Department of Transportation discovered the embankment failure near Wapato on Feb. 12.

It was caused by the severe corrosion of an aged culvert under the interstate, leading to the closure of first eastbound lanes and days later also the westbound lanes as repairs were made.

The state expected that westbound lanes would reopen the night of Friday, Feb. 23, but eastbound lanes are not expected to reopen until possibly March 1.

Detours are in place, but traffic can move slowly through them.

Eastbound traffic has been leaving I-82 at Exit 37A onto Highway 97. Traffic travels McDonald Road to Highway 22 and then back onto the interstate.

Westbound traffic detours off I-82 at Exit 50 onto Buena Road and then takes the Yakima Valley Highway and Donald Wapato Road to return to the interstate.

A contractor crew has removed the damaged culverts and built a temporary drainage system using coarse rock. They are backfilling the temporary drain and rebuilding and paving the westbound lanes first, to be followed with rebuilding and repaving the eastbound lanes.

Traffic also has been slow on I-90 at the Vantage Bridge as potholes are repaired and other bridge maintenance is done, but work was expected to be completed by Thursday evening

Weekend weather

The weather looks good for travelers crossing the Cascade Mountains on Interstate 90 at the start of the weekend.

Friday should be clear.

A 40% chance of snow before 2 p.m. and then possible rain is forecast for I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass.

But Sunday could be a tough travel day.

New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches is forecast for Sunday at the pass, with heavy snow continuing Sunday night and Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Tri-Cities area residents staying home for the weekend should enjoy good weather. They can expect a mostly sunny sky, with highs in the mid 50s and lows in the upper 30s to low 40s.

This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 12:27 PM.