Rock slides close Hwy. 52 from Horseshoe Bend to Emmett

Credit: Jamie Grey / KTVB

EMMETT -- Traffic is being detoured around an eight mile section of State Highway 52, after two rock slides blocked the roadway.

In a Monday update, the Idaho Transportation Department said the road would remain closed throughout the day while crews analyze an irrigation canal suspected of causing the slides.

According to ITD, the road is closed in both directions between Plaza Road, about four miles east of Emmett, and Shelly Avenue, about 8 miles west of Horseshoe Bend.

Traffic is being re-routed onto Shell Rock Road between Montour and Plaza roads in Gem County. The entire highway is closed to commercial traffic between Horseshoe Bend and Emmett, ITD said.

ITD says crews cleared debris that fell from a steep hillside above the highway by mid-afternoon Sunday, but left the closure in place because of a continued threat from the unstable slope.

Meanwhile, ITD reports that officials from the Emmett Irrigation Company are looking into whether a canal above the highway is possibly leaking and saturating the hillside and causing the slides.

Crews are trying to avoid having to shut off the water in the canal to avoid damage to the downstream farmers who rely on the canal for water for their crops.

ITD will reopen the road when it is safe to do so.

The department advises motorists who normally would use Idaho 52 to call 511 or check the 511 Traveler Services website for the latest information.