North Cascades Highway set for latest reopening ever, in late June

Highway 20, known as the North Cascades Highway, is set to reopen by June 25, as road crews race to repair damage from washouts and a rockslide.

Those challenges have made for what is expected to be the latest seasonal opening of the highway in its 54-year history, according to Washington State Department of Transportation data.

The highway had been closed for the winter season between milepost 134 at the Ross Dam trailhead and milepost 178 at Early Winters. Parts of the road inside the closure area were seriously damaged by washouts in December.

In March, a rockslide around milepost 130 buried the road under about 200 feet of debris.

That left WSDOT crews with the task of clearing out unstable rock and stabilizing the surrounding slope for a safe reopening.

At present, Highway 20 is an active work zone between milepost 130 and milepost 156, according to WSDOT, with no access for bikers, hikers or campers.

Highway 20 typically opens in mid- to late April, although it opened as early as March 10 in 2005 and as late as June 14 in 1974. Last year, it reopened April 22.

Drivers can view up-to-date road conditions and closures using the WSDOT mobile app, the mountain passes page, the live travel map, or by subscribing to email alerts and updates.

Material from Seattle Times archives was included in this report.

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