Photos of Idaho Highway 21 cleanup after earthquake
STANLEY, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Idaho Department of Transportation crews have finished cleaning up tons of rock, dirt and snow on Idaho Highway 21 between Lowman and Stanley a week after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the area.
ITD has released these 24 photos of the cleanup after the earthquake triggered several avalanches and landslides in Canyon Creek, an 11-mile corridor west of Stanley.
Large boulders dropped hundreds of feet to the highway, causing damage to the roadway.
Aftershocks and the threat of additional landslides kept crews out of the area until Sunday, April 5.
Maintenance crews from Lowman and Stanley attacked the clean-up from both sides. In just four days, they removed the debris and patched up the road before re-opening the highway to traffic.
In total, operators removed an estimated 2,000 cubic yards of debris from the highway. Several boulders were too large to be removed as-is. In such cases, crews used the “Boulder Buster” to break the boulders into a more manageable size. You can see that process in the photos.
ITD warns the traveling public on this corridor or other mountain highways of the increased risk of seasonal rockfall. Additional repairs to damaged guardrail will be completed this summer.
