North Cascades Highway to Close Wednesday

State Route 20 North Cascades Highway will be closing for the season Wednesday at 6:00 pm.

WSDOT had previously set a planned closure date of November 15th. However, Communications Manager Lauren Loebsack said that recently staff were at a tipping point as to whether or not to close the highway for the safety of the public and workers.

"We've had a couple of good snows and we were looking at another ten inches of snow (Tuesday)." Loebsack said, "Following the snow we have forecasts of warmer, wet weather. That's perfect conditions for avalanches."

The closure points will be the Ross Dam Trailhead on the west side and the Silver Star Gate on the east side. The closure will likely expand later in the winter as conditions worsen.

North Cascades Highway typically opens back up sometime in May.