Golden Gardens Drive closed until spring after slide

Golden Gardens Drive will be closed until spring after a slide this morning washed out the road above Golden Gardens Park.

Marybeth Turner, a spokeswoman for Seattle's Emergency Operations Center, said the roadway which overlooks Puget Sound collapsed and slid about 200 feet toward the popular North Seattle park. She could not immediately say what caused the slide, but heavy rains have saturated the region.

The slide swallowed a Subaru, but nobody was hurt. Turner said she didn't believe any homes were in danger.

The endless rain has also caused mud slides across the region.

Transportation workers are clearing thick layers of mud from the road in the 2400 block of Westlake Avenue North, said Casey Hanewall, a spokesman for the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Mud is sliding from the hillside underneath several buildings onto Westlake Avenue North. The slide was caused by a broken drain pipe, Hanewall said.

The Cascade Condominiums were evacuated and the city's planning and development department has been inspecting the building, officials said.

Though the building does not appear to be in danger, Hanewall said 10 to 12 inches of mud is covering three of the four lanes. All lanes of Westlake are closed to traffic.

Road crews are investigating a reported slide off Perkins Lane West and West Raye Street on Magnolia bluff, Hanewall said. Perkins Lane is often hit by mudslides.

A section of Perkins Lane is closed while crews clean up three small slides, Hanewall said.

In West Seattle, a section of Beach Drive Southwest near Atlas Place Southwest is closed while crews clean up another slide. A small slide struck near Alki Beach, at the intersection of California Way Southwest and Harbor Avenue Southwest, but the roadway is open Hanewall said.

The King County Road Services Division reports at least five mudslides have prompted road closures in the county. The most serious slides are at Northeast 172nd Street at 152nd Place near Woodinville, and at the intersection of Jones Road and 196th Avenue Southeast near Renton.

Crews say drainage from a hillside above Jones Road caused an estimated 200 to 300 yards of mud and debris to flow onto the road. On Northeast 172nd Street, 60 to 70 yards of debris has covered that road. Cleanup efforts cannot begin until the rain subsides and the hillsides stabilize.

In Issaquah crews have already cleaned up a mudslide on Mountainside Drive. The slide, which was about 7,500 feet wide, didn't cause any damage to any homes or cause any major traffic delays, said Bret Heath, Issaquah's public works operations director.

County crews also have their eyes on rivers in King County. As the day progresses, it's likely residents will see some lowland flooding, especially in flood-prone areas in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com