Ketchikan’s Third Avenue Bypass reopened Tuesday morning, more than a month after a fatal landslide came down over the road. The reopening means the city once again has a secondary thoroughfare through town.
Local authorities had announced weeks ago that they were aiming to open the road by the end of September, after geologists had determined the slope above and below to be stable. Crews then hydroseeded the hillside for additional stabilization, and installed fencing and rock for additional drainage. Contractors are rebuilding a retaining wall on Lower Second Ave, below the bypass.
The road is now fully open for all vehicles, but authorities have warned they may close it again for observation during the first few significant rain events this fall.
On Aug. 25, Ketchikan was hit by a landslide that killed a longtime city worker, destroyed three homes, and forced extended evacuations. It was the fourth fatal landslide in Southeast Alaska within the last decade.
