North Cascades Hwy Snow Clearing Progressing

Snow Removal Will Begin from the East Side on Monday, April 9th

This flag signals the current “end of the road” for snow removal crews

By Dennis & Loni Rahm

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) began snow removal from the west side of Washington’s northern-most cross state highway on March 26th.

On Monday, April 9th, the snow removal efforts will begin from the east side – and eventually, the two will meet in the middle. Generally, clearing the road takes 4-6 weeks to complete, although weather conditions can speed up or slow down the time frame.

Annual opening and closing dates for this scenic highway vary based upon snow levels. According to the WSDOT website, the earliest opening was March 10, 2005 – however, spring snow fall forced a reclosure of the road 16 days later and it was not reopened again until April 4th.

The earliest re-opening without incident was April 3, 2015. The only year recorded without a closure was the winter of 1976/77, just a few years after the Highway was completed.

Snow isn’t the only thing that needs to be removed

Once the roadway is clear of snow, crews will do an assessment of winter road damage, clear the area of rocks and debris, and replace signs and guardrails that were removed at closure time.

The annual winter closure spans a 35-mile stretch of highway reaching elevations of 5,477 feet at Washington Pass and 4,875 feet at Rainy Pass, between milepost 134 east of Diablo to milepost 171 which is 14 miles west of Mazama.

Additional information about the North Cascades Highway and daily photo updates can be found on the WSDOT website.

Note: All Photos courtesy of WSDOT