Streets could be closed until late Wednesday night or even Thursday after a landslide took out trees and knocked down power lines at about 10 p.m. Tuesday on Central Avenue South in Kent between Willis and Saar streets.
Debris from the slide spanned the roadway leaving Central Avenue closed, including the well-traveled intersection of Willis Street and Central Avenue just east of downtown. Detours were set up on side streets prior to the intersection.
Crews from the city of Kent and Puget Sound Energy worked Tuesday night and Wednesday to try to clear the debris. Central was still closed as of Wednesday afternoon. There were no injuries reported as a result of the landslide.
“This is something you expect in rainy weather in January but in mid-summer you do not expect it,” said city street supervisor Scott Schroeder. “It was one big cottonwood and a whole area of dirt.”
Landslides are rare in Kent.
“I’ve worked here 25 years and have only seen this once about 20 years ago,” Schroeder said.
City officials were unsure as of Wednesday what caused the landslide.
“The soil was unstable but there was no real indicator of why,” Schroeder said.
City crews, in consultation with private geotechnical engineers, also determined that a second cottonwood, more than 100 feet tall, needed to be cut down Wednesday in order to help stabilize the hillside.
About 1,400 customers lost power, according to Puget Sound Energy. PSE crews plan to repair lines after the second large tree was removed and they can safely access the hillside that sits just east of Central Avenue.
“It might be late tonight (Wednesday) before we can open it up,” Schroeder said. “There are still a lot of things to accomplish to make sure the street is safe for the public.”
Schroeder said city crews that showed up for the emergency work Tuesday night would be replaced with fresh crews Wednesday afternoon. Crews will use dump trucks to remove the trees and debris.
City crews have closed Central Avenue South between Russell Street and Gowe Street. Willis Street was closed eastbound at Third Avenue South. Access to local businesses is available, but limited.
Railroad Avenue is open north of Willis Street with right turns only onto Willis. Eastbound traffic on Willis is encouraged to use 74th Avenue South then South 259th Street to access Central Avenue southbound. Drivers can use Fourth Avenue South then West Smith Street or West James Street to access northbound Central Avenue.
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Central Avenue in Kent between Willis and Saar streets this evening. Debris from the slide spanned
the roadway leaving Central Avenue closed.
Crews from the city of Kent and Puget Sound Energy (PSE) are working to ensure that the area is
secure. The first step will be making sure that the hill side is stable enough to allow PSE personnel
safe access to the area so they can repair the downed lines and re-establish power to the 1400
residents and businesses currently out of power.
At this time it is unclear how long Central Avenue will stay closed, nor how long it will be until power
is restored to the area.
There were no injuries as a result of this incident.
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