DOT Confirms North Cascades Hwy To Have Latest Seasonal Re-Opening In History
It appears almost certain that the North Cascades Highway is in for its latest seasonal opening date in the road's 54-year history.
The 37-mile stretch of State Route 20 (SR-20), which includes Rainy and Washington Passes, closes annually during the winter months from the Ross Dam Trailhead to Silver Star due to heavy snow and elevated avalanche risks.
WINTER DAMAGE TO SR-20 SPELLS TROUBLE FOR SEASONAL RE-OPENING
The highway usually re-opens sometime between mid-April and early May following snow clearing efforts and post-winter maintenance. This year, however, crews working on those tasks also discovered a number of areas where the roadway had been severely damaged by washouts and debris slides between last November and this March.
Most of the damage to SR-20 can be found east of Newhalem up to the Ross Dam Trailhead and the west side of Rainy Pass, and the emergency repairs required to get the roadway re-opened finally began this week after a roughly-six-week period of contract bidding and other required internal processes by the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT).
WORK TO MAKE EMERGENCY REPAIRS TO SR-20 FINALLY GETS UNDERWAY
On Tuesday, crews began the clearing of a 200-foot-wide rockslide that fell onto the highway near Diablo Lake, and also made initial progress in assessing the slopes for any additional hazards.
Meanwhile, work to repair several sections of SR-20 that were heavily damaged by washouts between mileposts 142 and 148 near the Ross Dam Trailhead has yet to get underway. However, DOT officials are hopeful that an emergency contract will be in place by Monday, May 11, so that efforts to fix the road in these areas can finally get underway.
The DOT says all contracts for work on the highway will include provisions for round-the-clock efforts, seven days a week, until the repairs are completed.
NORTH CASCADES REMAINS PARTIALLY RE-OPENED
Until then, the North Cascades Highway will only remain partially open to all vehicle traffic from its eastside gates at milepost 171 (Silver Star) to Porcupine Creek at milepost 156 - a stretch that was re-opened by the DOT on May 2.
The road will remain closed to ALL traffic, both vehicular, recreational, and pedestrian from Colonial Creek Campground at milepost 130 to Porcupine Creek at milepost 156.
Officials are reporting that numerous bicyclists have been ignoring the signs marking the closure area and illegally crossing into the active work zone. They are reminding the public that the closed area has been deemed off limits due to significant safety concerns, including several parts of the roadway which are visibly compromised and others where its surface may appear traversable but whose below-ground integrity has been compromised.
They are asking everyone to heed and obey the closure signs and stay out of the work zone until such time that the road has been deemed safe for travel.
NORTH CASCADES HIGHWAY TO HAVE LATEST SEASONAL RE-OPENING EVER
The DOT says there's absolutely no chance that SR-20 will fully re-open by Memorial Day Weekend (May 23-25), but they have set a re-opening goal for Fourth of July Weekend (July 3-5).
Barring an unforeseen expediting of the necessary repairs, the North Cascades is very likely to see the latest seasonal re-opening date in its history.
Aside from its inaugural opening date of Sept. 2, back in 1972, the latest opening the North Cascades has ever seen was in 1974, when its gates didn't swing open for the season until June 14.
This year's initial estimate for a re-opening by the Fourth of July would best that all-time record by three whole weeks and also mark the first time the highway has ever re-opened during the summer and not the springtime.
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