Date:
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Contact:
WSDOT NC Region Communications Mgr. Jeff Adamson (Wenatchee) 509.667.2815
WSDOT NW Region Communicator Dustin Terpening (Burlington) 360.757.5997
WENATCHEE – WSDOT maintenance crewmembers swung the winter closure gates open for the North Cascades Highway (SR 20) at 8 a.m. today (Thursday, May 1st), right on the schedule estimated when work to clear the highway began a month and a half ago. The first drivers in line when the gates swung open found bare and dry or bare and wet road conditions with temperatures at the summits of Rainy (4,855) and Washington (5,477) passes right around freezing. A trace of new snow fell about 11 p.m. and again about 4 a.m., but nothing significant enough to delay the opening. The forecast calls for no more precipitation today and an afternoon high temperature near 60. Another front will bring a little light rain or possibly snow at the summits on Friday and Saturday nights, but daytime highs will remain in the 60’s.
Crews started the clearing effort six weeks ago, on March 24th. East and west side crews met near Rainy Pass on Monday. Widening and cutting safety pull out areas and monitoring stability of the new snow that fell over the past three days, kept crews busy until the gates opened.
Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker said, “We found lots of rocks and tree debris in the avalanche zones which made using the snow blowers impossible. We had to use the loaders and excavators and clear the snow all the way to pavement, one scoop at a time at those locations.” “We always plan for some equipment breakdowns, and weather delays, and we got some, but nothing that seriously held up the clearing process. It was the crew that played the biggest part in keeping the schedule. Their work was outstanding”. Becker, who has directed the reopening effort for the past 13 years said, “Every year is different, but the crew was committed to getting the road open by the first of May.”
State Route 20 closed last December 4th due to avalanches. In 2005, the road was opened the earliest date ever, on March 10th, but two weeks later, it was closed by avalanche danger for 9 days until April 4th. “The same potential exists every year,” said Avalanche Forecast Technician Mike Stanford, “The extended forecast makes us pretty confident that temperatures will remain cold enough to keep the snow stable for the next two weeks, but after that, we may have to do some avalanche control work if it warms up too quickly.” The latest opening ever, was June 14th in 1974. Updates of the annual spring reopening are posted on the WSDOT SR 20 web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades. New features in the WSDOT newsroom this year include a link to flickr and YouTube for photos and videos taken of the clearing effort over the past six weeks.
The highway is closed at milepost 134, near Diablo on the west side of Rainy Pass to milepost 171 east of Washington Pass, each winter.
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