It's Thursday, fellow North Cascades enthusiasts! Which means we're due for some updates:

Third week of clearing tackled avalanche piles

This week's work on State Route 20 North Cascades Highway (milepost 134-178) started at MP 163.2. Crews spent most of the week in cold, sunny weather clearing the Liberty Bell avalanche piles. They finished the week at Blue Lake Trailhead (milepost 161.5).

Crews reported 58" of snow on the centerline of Washington Pass and 56" on centerline at Blue Lake Trailhead.

Our crews on the west side started their week at milepost 152 and finished at milepost 156with about three miles to go to the summit of Rainy Pass. Crews are using a loader/blower to cut through about 32" of snow at the speed of about a mile per day, weather depending. Our crews have had to put chains down to navigate the ice once they hit asphalt. Speaking of the west side...

Rockslides and washouts complicate spring repairs

SR 20 remains closed four miles west of the seasonal closure (milepost 130) due to a large rockslide. Further east, the December floods damaged the road between mileposts 142-146. Once the rockslide at milepost 130 is cleared and the site is accessible to our contractors and crews, we'll be working under emergency contract to repair the sections of road damaged by the floods.

Gate lock removed, Jeep spotted between closure points

Our crews discovered that the lock to the closure gate on the east side had been broken and removed last weekend. People recreating in the area reported a Jeep driving up and down the closed section of the road.

Not only is this illegal, but it's also highly dangerous. You could get stuck in an untreated section of the road, you could find yourself in the path of an avalanche chute, or you could encounter a portion of the road that has been cleared but not repaired. Plus, if someone got stuck or hurt, there's no one patrolling the road, and there's no cell service in most of the area.

On top of that, breaking the lock and opening the gate signals to the next person: "Oh, this road must be open!" which now putsthem at risk, too.

An active work zone Monday-Thursday

As a reminder, please do not enter the area behind the closure points when crews are scheduled to work (Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.). It's a safety risk, but it also threatens our ability to work efficiently. If people enter the work zone while we're out there, we have to pause and wait for them to exit the area.

Any changes to the work schedule will be shared on the real time travel map.

Remember: the road is otherwise closed and unmaintained between milepost 134 and 178, and there is no cell service on the passes. For those that choose to visit the back country on the weekends, please check in on conditions with the Northwest Avalanche Center.

Changing of the guard

Before we wrap this week, a quick note: This newsletter has recently changed hands. After seven years of service at WSDOT, North Central Communications Manager Lauren Loebsack has moved on to pursue new opportunities. Each year, one of Lauren's favorite projects was keeping SR 20 NCH enthusiasts updated and informed of closing, clearing, and reopening activities. We already miss her dearly.

In the interim, the social media manager Rachel Terlep - hi, that's me! - is taking over. I'll do my best to carry the torch in Lauren's absence.

In the meantime, we’ll keep updating this year’s Flickr album so you can follow along with the work happening in one of the prettiest work zones in the world.

Have a great weekend and safe travels,

Rachel Terlep,

social media lead,

[email protected]