Spring Reopening On Schedule for The North Cascades Highway<br><br>Date: Monday, March 13, 2006<br><br>Contact: WSDOT NC Region Communications Manager Jeff Adamson (509) 667-2815 E-Mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov
WENATCHEE - The reopening of SR 20, The North Cascades Highway, will get underway the week of March 20th. For the second time in three weeks, WSDOT North Central Region Avalanche Control technicians evaluated the snow conditions on snowmobiles today. They found deeper snow accumulations from the recent storms and many of the avalanche chutes have still not released their snow loads. That must happen before it’s safe for crews to begin clearing the highway under them. Snow depth at the east closure gate was 5-1/2 feet. Above that point, it was about 7-feet. At the top of Washington Pass, the snow is 7-1/2 feet deep. The deepest accumulation on February 22nd was just east of Washington Pass beneath the Liberty Bell Number Three avalanche chute where snow 45-feet deep covered the highway. At the same time, depths of 20-feet were found further east below Cutthroat Ridge. Avalanche Control Technician Mike Stanford says, “Those are all deeper now.”
Clear skies and sunshine prevailed during the assessment. The plan is to begin bringing in the additional needed equipment from Stevens Pass and elsewhere in the region on Monday, March 20th and to clear the first seven miles from Early Winters, at Mazama to the Silver Star Gate, the first week. The amount of snow in the Cutthroat Ridge and Liberty Bell avalanche chute starting zones will determine how quickly work can proceed beyond the gate. Assuming those chutes release their snow or can be cleared with explosives, the reopening work is likely to take four to five weeks until late April.
SR 20 has been closed since November 7th. Last spring, the highway reopened on March 10th, the earliest ever, after two weeks of work to remove thick layers of ice. The two previous years, the reopening came in mid April, following about a month of work to remove accumulated snow.
Visit the North Cascades Web page:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/
