Rocks close one lane of SR 17 over weekend

SOAP LAKE - One lane of state Route 17 was closed for most of the weekend while Washington State Department of Transportation crews removed rocks from the cliff. The road originally was closed Friday evening and stayed closed until Sunday afternoon.

"Someone driving by noticed a rock leaning out of a bluff and contacted us," wrote Sebastian Moraga, WSDOT communications consultant, in answer to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. "Our WSDOT geotechnical experts assessed the situation, (then) our contractors scaled it."

The northbound lane was closed at 5 p.m. Friday one mile north of Soap Lake, with drivers encountering alternating traffic, flaggers, slowdowns and delays. The lane was reopened at 1 p.m. Sunday.

"We trimmed it first, knocked down the loose rock and then had it hauled away," Moraga said.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 11:54 PM.