Work to repair the Whitehorse Trail, which was damaged in the devastating 2013 Oso Landslide, has been delayed a year, the Everett Herald reports. Officials originally planned to repair the trail over the summer, but now they plan to do planning and permitting work this year to get ready for a 2016 repair.

From the Herald:

Officials need additional time for planning and permitting. Meanwhile, they continue to monitor river levels and multiple washouts along the trail.

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The county originally hoped to rebuild the mile-long segment of trail this summer, parks and recreation director Tom Teigen said. After conversations with state and federal teams in late November, it became clear that such a timeline wasn’t realistic, he said.

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The mudslide that killed 43 people and destroyed the Steelhead Haven neighborhood also changed the behavior of the North Fork Stillaguamish River in ways that are still being studied. The Whitehorse Trail skirts and crosses the river and its tributaries in a number of places on the path’s 27-mile route from Arlington to Darrington. At least two spots along the trail have been washed out this year, including a stretch that parallels Highway 530 in the heart of Oso, just west of the community’s fire hall.

Meanwhile, Biking Bis reports that volunteers have been working to clear brush, and a private donor has helped fund efforts to redeck some of the trail’s dilapidated bridges:

Volunteer and paid work crews cleared brush from the trail this past summer, but several sections remained closed as more than a dozen bridges were in various stages of disrepair

Then, last month, heavy rains washed out another section of the Whitehorse Trail that fronts Deer Creek near Oso. Trail users can get around this washout using the shoulder of Highway 530.

Meanwhile, a private donor has provided the funds needed to upgrade some of the dilapidated railroad bridges on the route. The Centennial Trail Coalition reports that decking is being installed on a bridge near 127th Ave NE.

 Green River Trail should reopen by end of January

Biking Bis also posted a follow-up note about work to reopen the Green River Trail after nearly a year of closures due to work on levees to protect Kent from flooding. Weather-depending, the trail should reopen by the end of January. From Biking Bis:

Basically some hand-rail work needs to be completed above the riverbank and some equipment is still using the trail. Meanwhile, the Interurban Trail detour is still open.