Neah Bay was isolated from the rest of the Olympic Peninsula on Saturday night when a sinkhole took out both lanes of state Highway 112 at the entrance to the Makah Reservation.
“The entire roadbed dropped down,” said Don Clotfelter, state Department of Transportation maintenance supervisor for Port Angeles.
The hole, according to Cloftfelter, was 150 feet long and 50 feet deep at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Clotfelter said transportation workers and the Washington State Patrol was on the scene assessing the situation.
He doesn’t expect the road to be reopened for traffic until at least sometime today.
Clotfelter said he is sure Thursday’s heavy rain — up to 7 inches in 24 hours on the West End — caused the problem.
Clallam County Emergency Services Manager Management Joe Ciarlo said Coast Guard helicopters and cutters would be used if needed in an emergency in Neah Bay.
Stormy weather on Saturday continued to batter the West End, where rising rivers damaged several homes and prompted emergency assistance.
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The rest of the story appears in Sunday’s Peninsula Daily News. Click on WEATHER at left for the latest forecast and weather news.
