SR 410: A highway restored

Posted by Unknown on Friday, September 7, 2012

By Summer Derrey

Members of the 14th Legislative District and staff from FHWA,
WSDOT and Yakima County cut the ribbon to open the
new stretch of SR 410 at the base of the 2009 landslide
in the Nile Valley, west of Naches.
Three years ago, a massive landslide in the Nile Valley on State Route 410 uprooted a small close-knit community. The landslide crushed homes, buried the highway and rerouted the Naches River.

Federal, state, city and county officials came together quickly, to restore a temporary route for the Nile Valley.

On Aug. 30, 2012, a new section of SR 410 opened in time for Labor Day travel. The new section follows along the base of the landslide. Community members and officials celebrated the new route at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"This project required courage, leadership, passion and caring to get things done. Above all, it required cooperation. Everybody came together to get the job done." said Schuyler Hoss, Gov. Gregoire’s regional representative.

 “One of the most striking things to me, I will always remember, is how this community came together to support the people that lost their homes…” said Sen. Curtis King, 14th District. “Those are things that show quality and the character of a community.”

“The entire project that we see today was made possible through the cooperation of the federal, the state and the local government. And, you know, that seldom happens. This is a good example of how government needs to work,” said Rep. Norm Johnson, 14th District. “Nature handed us one whale of a lemon, and today, we’ll cut the ribbon and taste the sweetness of that lemonade because the folks of the Nile Valley have their peace and quiet back.”

“It is today that we see what government is really, really for – infrastructure and allowing us to travel our state and nation freely,” said Rep. Charles Ross, 14th District. “I give this project an absolute A+ when it comes to government efficiency.”

“We are going to turn back over $1 million of federal emergency relief money,” said Don Whitehouse, WSDOT regional administrator. “This project really is under budget.”

Next time you’re headed over the mountains, take SR 410 to check out the new route, just nine miles west of the town of Naches.

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