SR 20, North Cascades Highway closing Thursday

WENATCHEE - This weekend's forecast calls for up to 3 feet of snow, high winds and colder temperatures in the North Cascades and has prompted the Washington State Department of Transportation to temporarily close the North Cascades Highway at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11.

State Route 20 will be closed between milepost 134, seven miles east of Diablo Dam on the west side of 4,855' Rainy Pass and milepost 171, nine miles west of Mazama on the east side of 5,477' Washington Pass.

Four inches of new snow fell overnight. The storm this weekend could really increase avalanche danger above the highway.

Twisp Maintenance Supervisor Don Becker says, "Avalanche chutes can fill and release in as few as 20 minutes under the right conditions, which is faster than we can react to keep motorists or our crews safe. We don't want to risk back country recreationists getting caught in a potentially dangerous storm event either. We'll go back in on Monday and evaluate conditions for reopening."

Becker says crews will check all the parking areas between the two closure gates to make sure everyone is out. While the storm front isn't expected to bring the heavy snow until Friday afternoon, "Having the gates closed Thursday night will keep anyone who didn't get the word from getting up there and caught in the storm."

Crews will return on Monday, Dec. 15 to reassess avalanche conditions to see if the highway can be reopened or if it will remain closed for the
winter.

The key to reopening is stability of the snow in the avalanche chutes, and that depends on how much snow comes down and the temperature,according Avalanche Technician Mike Stanford. Stanford says, "By Monday,we could be looking at avalanche chutes with firm and stable snow or dangerous layers of unstable snow." If it can be reopened, it will likely take crews a day or more to clear the roadway for traffic.

The North Cascades Highway usually closes between Thanksgiving week and mid December, re-opening in late April or early May. The highway closed last winter on December 4th and reopened last spring, on May 1st.

Visit the North Cascades Web page: www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades that includes the opening and closing dates since the highway first opened in 1972.

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