Evans Riceville Road is closed until further notice.

Cascade County Public Works officials determined on June 4 that a complete closure of the road was necessary as they continued to observe movement in the soils below the roadway and new cracks in the driving surface.

Heavy rainfall in late May, continuing into early June, caused a road slide about four miles west of Highway 89 and county officials reduced the road to one lane on June 1.

Due to unstable ground conditions, unknown subsurface movement and potential further slides, county officials determined maintaining one lane of traffic on the road was an “unacceptable safety risk.”

Evans Riceville Road restricted to one lane due to slide

Les Payne, county public works director, told The Electric that the road is closed until it’s fixed and he doesn’t have an estimated timeline for repairs.

Drivers should use alternate routes, including through the Stockett area.

Motorists traveling to and from Logging Creek Road or Lick Creek Road will not be able to enter or exit through Evans Riceville Road.

All traffic will be directed to and from the Stockett area.

Payne told The Electric that Evans Riceville Road is a heavily trafficked road for access to Sluice Boxes State Park and is also a Malmstrom Air Force Base missile road.

Payne said there’s a missile site about a mile past the slide, so he was communicating with base officials directly about the closure.

He said there’s no repair cost estimate yet, but because of how public works manages its budget, in most cases, it can cover unexpected costs within the same budget cycle.

Since it’s a missile road, Payne said he’ll also ask the Air Force to contribute to repair costs.

Malmstrom won’t have any say in decision-making for the road repair, nor has the base committed to a certain amount of funding, but Payne said once the repair is completed, he’ll let AF officials know the cost and request assistance.

Payne’s department is continuing to monitor the road and evaluate repair options.

For additional information, contact Cascade County Public Works at 406-454-6920.