Extensive Damage/Repairs Spell Late Opening For North Cascades Hwy This Year

Although Old Man Winter didn't bring nearly as much snow as he usually does to the North Cascades Highway over the winter months, he did have a hand in playing a few tricks which have delayed the seasonal opening of the roadway this year.

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.

This year's efforts to prime the highway for its seasonal re-opening didn't find crews removing an inordinate amount of snow, but once what had fallen on the roadway was cleared, they did discover several areas of significant concern, including a large rockslide which damaged SR-20 near the Ross Dam Trailhead.

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Due to the extent of the damage in this area, as well as others where the highway experienced debris slides and washouts, emergency repairs will soon get underway but it will take some time for them to be completed.

Until the roadway can be fully re-opened, officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Thursday that SR-20 over the North Cascades will be partially re-opened to all vehicle traffic from its eastside gates at milepost 171 to Porcupine Creek at milepost 156 beginning Thursday, April 30 at 2 p.m.

The DOT says there will be no public access between Colonial Creek Campground and Porcupine Creek, and the highway will remain closed as an active work zone until further notice from milepost 130 to milepost 156.

In addition to all vehicle traffic, no cyclists or other recreationists of any kind will be allowed to use the roadway inside the 26-mile work zone because of safety concerns.

Due to the severity of the damages on SR-20, the DOT says work to repair the roadway will definitely take more than 30 days, even if crews were able to begin immediately and worked around the clock.

Along with extensive fixes to portions of the highway that were damaged over the winter, crews must also still complete drainage repairs, slope stabilization efforts, and barrier and guardrail replacement.

At this time, the DOT has no official estimated time for the full re-opening of SR-20.

Aside from its inaugural opening date of Sept. 2, back in 1972, the latest opening the North Cascades Highway has ever seen in its 54-year history was in 1974, when its gates didn't swing open for the season until June 14.