Road crews still digging out from Wenatchee Valley's record-breaking storm

Street crews in East Wenatchee have cleared most roads, though some roads are only one lane for the time being. Mayor Jerrilea Crawford said beginning Monday, crews will switch to the night shift. These shifts will begin at 10 p.m. and allow for work when there is less traffic.

“They’ll be out pretty late in the evening when hopefully everybody is in bed and out of the way,” Crawford said.

The initial focus will be Grant Road and Valley Mall Parkway before moving to side streets. Sidewalk intersections will also be shoveled throughout the week.

East Wenatchee is looking for volunteers to potentially shovel sidewalks for community members who are unable to do it themselves. Crawford said volunteers should contact Trina Elmes at telmes@eastwenatcheewa.gov.

Wenatchee Public Works still clearing out

Aaron Kelly, Wenatchee’s public works operation manager, said crews have worked 24 hours a day to clear the snow. Additionally, the city has rented additional equipment and hired contractors to help clear snow.

Crews are currently working to clear snow from turn lanes and berms on Wenatchee Avenue Chelan Street, Mission Street and segments of Miller Street.

Kelly said if possible, people should move vehicles from street parking to parking lots to allow plows to clear snow.

So far, crews have worked to do at least a single pass through most residential streets to allow emergency vehicle passage.

Chelan County ‘back on track’

In Chelan County, crews reopened one lane of White River Road Monday afternoon. Jill FitzSimmons, a county spokesperson, said the county is asking only locals who live on the road to drive it right now.

“The Lake Wenatchee area was hit pretty hard with the snow,” FitzSimmons said. “There’s a lot of effort in the Lake Wenatchee area to get those roads widened up.”

Across the rest of the county, crews will spend the week widening intersections and cul de sac roads. Crews are reminding residents that snow berms will get fairly high during this process. And while crews do not intend to shovel snow into people’s driveways, that will likely happen during this process.

“I feel like we’re back on track,” FitzSimmons said. “I know the road maintenance supervisor feels like we’re back on track.”

Stevens Pass remains the sole mountain pass closed

Following Sunday’s reopening of Blewett and Snoqualmie Pass and White Pass reopening Monday, Stevens Pass stands as the only state pass in the Cascades that remains closed.

The state Department of Transportation plans to reopen Stevens on Wednesday. Lauren Loebsack, a WSDOT spokesperson, said freezing rain in the forecast could change that.

Loebsack said there have been several “dirty slides” in the Tumwater region, which is when debris like tree stumps falls with a slide. This makes it challenging for blowers to clear material off roadways. Most slides occurred on the western slope of the pass, Loebsack said.

Also complicating matters is the several inches of ice covering the road. Loebsack said WSDOT would bring in a grader to break up the ice.