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3-week closure coming to Beaver Hill in late September

(Photo is of Beaver Hill in January 2026)

Project Update

Posted Sept. 24, 2026: On Sept. 28, our contractor begins the Beaver Hill retaining wall project at the hairpin turn on Chumstick Highway near Plain. The project requires a full closure at the work site. Read more below. Other traffic impacts occurring the week of Sept. 28 in the Chumstick/US 2 area:

  • Our Leavenworth crew will be installing about three driveway culverts on Chumstick Highway between Merry Canyon Road and Little Chumstick Road. Watch for one-lane, flagger-controlled traffic. Traffic delays will be minor on this county project. The project must be completed before rains hit to improve drainage issues there. We will update you on this project on this page.
  • Also on Sept. 28, a WSDOT contractor resumes road repairs to Chumstick Highway that are related to the December storm. The WSDOT contractor will start in the vicinity of milepost 6.5 and continue west until about milepost 12. The contractor will stop work at milepost 12 and move to milepost 13 to avoid the construction limits of our Beaver Hill project. Once the WSDOT contractor is at milepost 13, they will continue west toward the intersection of SR 207/Chumstick Highway. Contact WSDOT for any updates.
  • WSDOT has more work to complete on US 2. At milepost 93.5 in the Tumwater Canyon, there is a 26-foot-long by 6-foot-wide section of roadway in the westbound lane that will be planed and paved. We do not have a start date for this work to relay to you. Contact WSDOT for any updates.

 

Chumstick Highway at Beaver Hill near Plain will be closed for about three weeks beginning Sept. 28 so a Chelan County Public Works contractor can build a retaining wall at the site of a landslide that occurred this past winter.

This will be done under a full road closure, meaning motorists will not be able to get through the work zone. Detour routes are on either side of the closure.

The work was originally scheduled to begin in August; however, the start date was pushed back out of concerns for the ongoing Little Giant Fire.

In 2016, Chelan County built a retaining wall on Beaver Hill to stabilize the slope next to the roadway. The wall stood up well during the December 2025 weather event that caused much flooding in the northern part of Chelan County. However, a slide occurred just past the wall, causing Beaver Hill to be temporarily closed.

In addition to extending the existing retaining wall by 150 feet, other nearby slopes will be repaired and stabilized with additional fill and new guardrail.

The project area is from milepost 12.3 to 12.4 on Chumstick Highway. The speed limit will be lowered to 25 mph about a mile before the project area, on each side of the closure.

The $790,000 project is paid for with a mix of federal emergency relief funds and county road funds.

Last Updated: 09/25/2026 11:05 AM

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