OSO, Wash. (AP) - The Washington Transportation Department says two days of steady rain have delayed the scheduled reopening to two-way, 50 mph traffic of a section of Highway 530 destroyed by the Oso mudslide last March.
The highway had been expected to reopen Monday. That’s been pushed back until Tuesday morning.
Spokesman Travis Phelps said Friday that the contractor needs dry weather to finish paving and restriping the road.
The devastating slide wiped out dozens of homes and entombed 43 people when it struck March 22.
The DOT says that for the past two weeks, crews have been grading and paving the western half of the rebuilt roadway while pilot cars directed traffic through the work zone on a one-way, alternating basis.
The federal government is paying for the work with $28.1 million in emergency relief money.
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