Selway River Road remains closed as work on rock slide continues

LOWELL — Work on a rock slide on the Selway River Road about 4 miles east of Lowell is progressing slowly but the road remains closed to through traffic.

Dan Fitting, supervisor of the Kidder-Harris Road District, said Wednesday the contractors, Debco Construction of Orofino, had opened one lane last week to allow people to retrieve their campers. The road was closed again and since then crews have been placing “soil nails,” which are steel rods that are anchored into the rock to reinforce the base of the slide.

The popular recreation route was blocked shut July 15 by several large boulders and other debris, trapping people who live behind the slide and several others who were camping.

People were redirected onto the Swiftwater Road, a high-clearance route that comes out at Kooskia about 20 miles away. Some recreational vehicles could not make it out that way and had to be left behind.

Fitting said he could not estimate a reopening date for the road. In the meantime, payment for the project is likely to be shared by the federal government.

“We’re hoping the Federal Highway Administration is going to step in and help us with the bill,” Fitting said. “The last I heard, (the cost) was about $2.3 million.”