Landslide closes State Route 109 Friday morning

Same spot as last winter

By Dan Hammock • January 8, 2021 3:30 pm
COURTESY HOQUIAM POLICE DEPARTMENT Just shy of a year after a slide closed State Route 109 just west of Hoquiam, the same hillside came down again early Friday morning, closing the road in both directions. Hoquiam and state Department of Transportation crews were clearing trees and mud from the slide Friday morning.
COURTESY HOQUIAM POLICE DEPARTMENT Just shy of a year after a slide closed State Route 109 just west of Hoquiam, the same hillside came down again early Friday morning, closing the road in both directions. Hoquiam and state Department of Transportation crews were clearing trees and mud from the slide Friday morning.

State Route 109 was closed early Friday morning by a landslide in the same spot that slid out and closed the road last year. Fortunately, unlike last year, the roadway reopened later in the day.

“Our favorite hillside on SR 109 at mile post 2 has come down again,” posted Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers on Facebook shortly after 4 a.m.

At daylight, crews from the city and the state Department of Transportation were working to remove a large tree that fell onto the highway along with hillside sediment, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Tina Werner.

Werner said Friday morning that crews were also assessing any additional danger from the hillside above.

Traffic coming from the Ocean Shores side of the slide was being detoured via Powell Road to Ocean Beach Road, then south to Highway 101. From the Hoquiam side, drivers were detouring up Highway 101 to Ocean Beach Road, and then Powell Road to State Route 109.

Shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, the Department of Transportation announced the roadway had reopened.

It was just less than a year ago that the same hillside above 109 slid into the roadway. That closure lasted for days before the roadway was reopened.

The latest forecast Friday from the National Weather Service said landslide risk was decreasing starting Friday, with a calm weekend ahead. However, rain is slated to return Monday, with heavy rain and gusty winds Tuesday, which will ramp up the risk of landslides region-wide through Thursday.

The Hoquiam Police Department Facebook page is usually the first to post when a slide blocks the road, https://www.facebook.com/hoquiampolice, and updates on roads region-wide can be found on the Department of Transportation’s Twitter feed, https://twitter.com/wsdot_tacoma.