North Cascades Highway (SR 20) Repair Update — May 2026

North Cascades Highway (SR 20) Repair Update — May 2026

General information| Scenes from the Park
May 10, 2026•4 min read

North Cascades Highway (SR 20) Repair Update — May 2026
SR 20 rockslide repairs

Hello and Happy Thursday, North Cascades Highway enthusiasts. Some news for you today, which runs the gamut from bad to kinda good. Without further ado...

The bad news: The highway will not reopen before Memorial Day

Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to reopen fully in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. It is our goal to complete the repairs needed and open the highway by the Fourth of July. But please understand this is a goal, not a promise.

You can see a few new photos of crews starting work on cleaning up the slide on our Flickr album.

Remember that SR 20 North Cascades Highway remains closed between Colonial Creek Campground to Porcupine Creek (MP 130-156). It is open from the east side up to MP 156.

The good news: Work is underway to clear the rockslide at MP 131

We executed an emergency contract, and work began on the rockslide near Diablo Lake on Tuesday. Interwest Construction Inc. from Burlington will do the emergency repairs on SR 20. If that name sounds familiar, it's because that's the same crew that stabilized the slope after a slide closed northbound I-5 south of Bellingham earlier this year.

This week, they're performing scaling work, rappelling down the slope to examine it for loose rocks and debris. They use hand tools and compressed air to dislodge and send potential hazards down the slope. If you want to see more, we posted videos showing this same process during our work on the Bellingham slideearlier this year.

What about the washouts between MP 142-148?

We're continuing to coordinate with state and federal partners, including permitting authorities, and we're pursuing contracting options to repair the multiple sections of SR 20 damaged between mileposts 142-148.

Contracts executed for both contracts - the rockslide and the washouts - will include a 24/7 provision, as long as the work can be done safely. At this time, we expect to have the second emergency contract underway the week of May 11.

Why is SR 20 taking longer to repair than US 2 did in December?

We've seen people draw comparisons to these two projects, particularly when pointing to photos of damage that - at first glance - look similar.

However, the conditions at the two locations are very different, and those differences play a big role in how quickly crews could safely assess the damage and begin repairs.

One of the biggest factors is elevation. The damaged areas on US 2 Tumwater Canyon were around 1,500 feet in elevation. The primary damaged sites on SR 20 are around 2,170 feet. That higher elevation meant much of the SR 20 damage stayed buried under snow well into the winter and required crews to travel through avalanche chutes. Those hazards were not present at Tumwater Canyon.

All of those factors - elevation, snowpack, avalanche risk, accessibility - in addition to the overall scale of the damage have directly affected the repair timeline on this road.

We updated the blog we published last week to include more details about what's happening right now and what's to come (as far as we know right now). Please give it a visit if you want more information.

Once more, with feeling...respect road closure signs

We heard reports that cyclists have been biking through the closed sections of SR 20.

To say it again: That section of the road is closed to all public access for the safety of all travelers, cyclists, and recreators. It is against the law to go beyond the closure gates.

While some damage can be seen, much of it is hidden, including areas where the roadway is undermined beneath the surface. On top of that, this area is now an active work zone.

A note about last week's newsletter

Last week's sign-off about hoping cyclists "were able to get a ride in" caused some confusion and frustration, and I want to clarify my intent.

Some interpreted this as a sly nod to riders who ignored our warnings and rode through the closed, damaged sections of North Cascades Highway. That was not my intention. At no point this year has the entire highway been bikeable, and we have consistently urged people to stay away from the damaged areas.

My comment was directed at cyclists who had the opportunity to ride the undamaged stretches between the east side closure point and roughly MP 148, before we extended the closure east to MP 156 last week. I'm sorry for the confusion my wording caused.

I do want to thank those cyclists who heeded our warnings and stayed out of the damaged areas. Those sections were never safe to ride through or around.

We'll keep you updated as more information comes in. We know how important this road is to travelers, local communities, recreators, and the regional economy. Thanks for sticking through it with us.

Rachel Terlep, Statewide Social Media Manager
[email protected]

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