A portion of Evans Riceville Road has been closed since June 4 due to a road slide caused by heavy rainfall in late May and early June.

Cascade County Public Works officials determined 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.

The slide area is about four miles west of Highway 89 and county officials reduced the road to one lane on June 1.

Evans Riceville Road closed indefinitely due to slide

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

Liz Moultray lives on the closed section of Evans Riceville Road.

She contacted The Electric and sent a letter to County Commissioners earlier this month about the impact of the road closure.

Moultray said that checking the mail now takes an hour and 12 minutes one way, compared to 10 minutes normally.

The drive to Belt, where her children and others on the closed section attend school, has doubled from 30 minutes to an hour one way.

“School starts in late August; families and the Belt district need to know now whether this road will be open, because a parent making the school run twice a day is looking at up to four hours of driving,” she wrote in her letter to commissioners.

The Electric contacted the Belt school district about bus transportation for students on the closed portion and will update this story when we get that information.

Moultray said emergency response from the Highway 89 side is cut off and response crews have an extra half hour to reach every home past the slide, which she wrote to The Electric, is “a real safety gap with no end date.”

Winter is a looming concern, Moultray wrote, and said the Stockett-side route drifts badly and can be marginal even with plowing. If the repair slips past fall, residents could face stretches with no reliable access, she wrote.

Les Payne, county public works director, told The Electric that county officials understand the concerns of the affected residents as the school year approaches.

“We recognize the impact this has on students, parents, and the school district, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we work through this process,” he said via email.

His office has issued a request for qualifications for professional engineering services and proposals are due this week.

Evans Riceville Road restricted to one lane due to slide

Payne said that assuming the procurement process proceeds as anticipated, the county will then work with the selected engineering firm to finalize the design and move the project toward construction.

Based on the current project schedule, Payne doesn’t anticipate the roadway will reopen before the start of the school year.

He said the county is committed to moving the project forward as quickly as possible and making process this year, but there are several factors influencing the overall schedule, including the engineering process, contractor availability, weather conditions, and other unforeseen circumstances.

Payne said due to those factors, he can’t yet provide a definitive timeline for reopening Evans Riceville Road, nor does he have a cost estimate yet.

“Please assure the families that restoring Evans Riceville Road remains one of Cascade County Public Works’ highest priorities, and we are committed to moving the project forward as efficiently and responsibly as possible,” Payne said.

During the closure, 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 in June 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, and he discussed the closure with base officials.

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 in June that once the repair is completed, he’ll let AF officials know the cost and request assistance.

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

*Cascade County Public Works photo