Interstate 82

The major failing irrigation culverts that run under Interstate-82 between Yakima and the Tri-Cities have caused havoc for east-west truckers and…

The emergency seems to be over for now at the slow-moving landslide at Rattlesnake Ridge near Yakima. The state has taken down warning signs on the highway below. But for some, the drive is still nerve wracking. They’ve coined a phrase for driving quickly past the slide: “Shooting the Gap.”

There are about 50 residents in 15 houses and trailer homes on a crescent of land wedged in a depression between Interstate 82 and the hillside that’s cracking near them. According to measurements taken since October by the state and its consultant, the land above this community and Interstate 82 is starting to move more rapidly.

Officials in Yakima County are strongly urging residents living below a shifting mountainside near Union Gap to evacuate. A huge crack that appeared on Rattlesnake Ridge last year is beginning to widen.