Chinook Pass opened at noon on June 5, 2008.
Traffic is restricted to one lane, three miles east of the summit.
Updated June 23, 2008
Contact WSDOT Communications: Mike Westbay 509.728.4712 (Yakima)
YAKIMA – WSDOT crews opened Chinook Pass at noon on Thursday, June 5.
One lane is restricted for a short distance, three miles east of the summit, due to a washout that undermined a portion of the roadway. Drivers will need to stop at the stop sign, check for on-coming traffic and proceed cautiously through one lane.
The long, cold, snowy winter delayed snow removal efforts. Instead of a steady melt-down of the snow pack, the snow kept piling up. It finally stopped snowing on May 13.
Clearing the highway slowed considerably when WSDOT maintenance crews reached the west side of the summit. They found deeper than average snow and avalanche areas littered with rocks and trees.
SR 123 (Cayuse Pass) opened at noon on Friday, May 23, 2008.
At 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, crews temporarily closed the SR 410 gates at Morse Creek (five miles east of the summit) and at Crystal Mountain Boulevard (eight miles northwest of the summit) until Thursday’s decision to close for the season. Access to the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort from SR 410 remains open.
Additionally, WSDOT and Mount Rainier National Park staff agreed to close SR 123 (Cayuse Pass) for the season. SR 123 is closed within Mount Rainier National Park from the 4,675-foot Cayuse Pass summit at the junction of SR 410 and SR 123 to Steven Canyon Road.
WSDOT closes each pass for the winter due to high avalanche risk and hazardous driving conditions. Both passes have numerous slide areas that pose significant danger to travelers, WSDOT maintenance crews and park staff.
The combination of avalanche danger, mountainous terrain, lack of cell phone service, inclement weather, and the low number of vehicles, make driving these passes in the winter a potentially hazardous endeavor. If someone had a problem, such as going off the road, it could be many hours, or days, before anyone could find them, which could be fatal in winter conditions.
For information on these and other mountain passes call 511 or visit:
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/.
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