The big trouble on Little Hanaford Road east of Centralia began in the January 2022 flood.
Six months later, the Lewis County commissioners voted to declare the road was in a state of emergency as the only access point for residents beyond the crack.
More than a year after the June 2022 declaration, work is underway to repair the road, according to a news release from Lewis County on Thursday.
When the emergency was declared, it was done alongside a state of emergency declaration for Garrard Creek Road on the northwest end of the county with the hopes that both roads would be repaired last summer.
But, according to the news release, a “geotechnical investigation” of the Little Hanaford area determined there was 120 feet of roadway that would need replacement by excavation more than 20 feet down. The digging is currently ongoing. Then, the area will be backfilled with a new foundation.
Little Hanaford runs beside China Creek east of Centralia as it enters the city. The crack was at least a foot deep in early 2022 and has only continued to slide out. Under the part of the road that is cracked, there is also a City of Centralia waterline that, if broken, would shut off water to the valley, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
“The cracks have been growing and it appears to me that there is also some slumping taking place,” said Little Hanaford resident Erik Dahl in June 2022. “It is only a matter of time before the one remaining lane collapses and I am very relieved to hear that a state of emergency has been declared by the county. … There is really no other road in and out for all the residents of the valley except a logging road and I have no idea where it goes or what condition it is in for passenger cars.”
The road has been closed down to one lane for more than a year now, but residents should prepare for additional delays as construction continues at the site.
