Cars wait for a flagger at the top of Woodfords Canyon on Tuesday morning after a wash-out reduced the road to one lane.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Expect traffic delays going over Highway 88 after a portion of the highway at the top of Woodfords Canyon was washed out.
The California Department of Transportation closed the highway for about 45 minutes before allowing alternating lanes.
One lane of the highway reopened right around 8 a.m.
The closure is above Crystal Springs and just before the bridge across the Carson River’s West Fork, which has been in flood stage for most of the last week.
Over the weekend, the California Highway Patrol reported water a few inches of mud and gravel in the vicinity.
As of Tuesday morning, Mottsville Lane remains closed for water over the roadway. Genoa Lane also had water encroaching on the eastbound lane on Tuesday.
The West Fork crested at 14.03 feet around 10 p.m. Monday night, according to the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service.
Its peak crest of 14.04 feet occurred 9:45 p.m. Friday. It has yet to hit the 14.5-foot moderate flood stage.
National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for the river due to snowmelt thanks to warm temperatures upstream.
A flood watch for Carson Valley expired at 8 a.m. Tuesday after being extended 12 hours on Monday afternoon.
Cloud cover from thunderstorms over the weekend that kept the river levels from hitting forecast totals failed to materialize on Monday, prompting the extension.
