North Cascades Highway Reopened

The North Cascades Highway reopened Wednesday for the first time in more than five months.

About an hour after the road reopened at 10 a.m., a snowslide closed it for two hours. Both lanes reopened later in the day.

However, there is no stopping along the scenic highway through North Cascades National Park, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Clarissa Lundeen.

“There is just enough rooms for cars to get through,” Lundeen said.

The state’s most northern route through the Cascade Range closed for the winter on Nov. 19. The highway closes each winter because of heavy snow and avalanche hazards.

But this winter was especially harsh, and May 7 is the latest opening date for the highway since 1976. Normally, vehicles start streaming over the passes by mid-April.

Crews have been working to clear the highway since March 10.

Residents of the Methow Valley have complained that tourist-dependent businesses have been damaged by the late opening.

The North Cascades Highway, Washington 20, crosses 4,855-foot Rainy Pass and Washington Pass at 5,477 feet. Workers moved enough snow to fill 120,000 dump trucks, officials said.

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