Dramatic Mount St Helens Mud Slide: WA Highway Closed Longterm

Mud Slide Road Damage at Mount St Helens

I had heard about a large mudslide closing SR-504, but I had no idea it was this bad.

Mount St. Helens Mud Slide Closes SR-504

Last week there was a large mudslide on SR-504 near Coldwater Lake that closed the highway. Usually, when a mudslide closes a Washington State highway it opens again shortly after within a few hours or days, but not this time. This mudslide caused severe damage to the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge closing off the upper part of SR-504. Now aerial pictures taken by drones allow us to see how bad the damage really was. Honestly, I can’t tell that a bridge was ever there from looking at the photos. I zoomed in and split the image into 2 parts so you can see the details better.

Aerial Photos Show Dramatic Damage to SR-504

The photos released by the Washington State Department of Transportation show the scale of the damage. From the pictures, the damage looks to be between 200 and 300 feet across with most of the area completely washed away from the slide. I am not familiar with the area, but if there was a bridge there is no sign of it ever existing now. There is a large chunk of the highway that has been completely washed away, not just covering it. The highway will obviously need to be completely rebuilt, and that will take time.

SR-504 to be Closed Long-Term

The Washington State Department of Transportation released a statement explaining that the area above the mudslide on SR-504 would remain closed long-term while repairs are being done. They did not say how long the “long-term” would be, but that people should consider the closure in their spring and summer road-trip plans. FUN!!