Date:  Thursday, March 26, 2009

Contact: Jeff Adamson, North Central Region Communications Manager, Wenatchee,
(509) 667-2815, (509) 669-8778 Cell. E-mail: adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov
WSDOT Area 3 Maintenance Superintendent Dean Hills, Okanogan (509) 826-7364

WENATCHEE – Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) maintenance crewmembers on both the east and west sides of the North Cascades Highway will begin the annual clearing process to reopen 37 miles of the highway including Rainy and Washington Passes, on Monday, March 30.

Clearing the North Cascades Highway is a significant effort each year. WSDOT crews will be working 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday through April.

“The west side crews have already gotten started on the first 14 miles from the Diablo gate to the Granite Creek Bridge,” said Okanogan Maintenance Superintendent Dean Hills. “They’ll start with two snow blowers, clearing the new snow that’s come down.”
On the eastside, the eight-person Twisp maintenance crew will start clearing from the east closure gate near Silver Star Mountain with a V-plow, a loader and a snow blower. A snow cat with a blade will move ahead and start work to cut down the snow piles below the chutes in the Cutthroat Ridge zone, which will speed the snow blower progress when the clearing progresses that far in the following week.

“Week two we’ll bring in another snow blower from Stevens Pass, an excavator and two contracted D-6 and D-8 caterpillars and operators to start work on the huge snow deposits below the Liberty Bell chutes,” said Hills.

While up to seven feet of snow has fallen since the assessment trip a month ago, Hills says he’s confident the crew can get started and move quickly.

“Even with another half-foot of new snow from Tuesday to Wednesday which ramped up the immediate avalanche danger, the warm temperatures by Monday will empty the chutes – they’ve got a well established sheer layer, so any new snow should slide quickly,” said Hills. “While it’s impossible to predict exactly when we’ll have it open – due to weather, avalanche danger, equipment breakdowns and crew health – we’re hoping we can match last year.”

The highway reopened May 1st, last spring and was closed for the season on Dec. 11. The cost to reopen the highway each spring typically runs from $200,000 to $250,000.

Visit the WSDOT Flickr photo page to view pictures from last month’s assessment: www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/sets/72157614387037548/.

For more information, visit the SR 20 North Cascades Highway web page:
www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/Passes/NorthCascades/

                                                 ###

< Go Back