WSDOT Takes You Behind the Scenes as Crews Work to Open Chinook Pass

Though Cayuse Pass opened last week, nearby Chinook Pass remains closed even as weather conditions seem to improve in the lowlands, creating avalanche danger up high.

To see for yourself the work that crews are doing to clear the road in time for opening Memorial Day weekend, which remains the goal, the Washington State Department of Transportation posted this guest blog entry Wednesday by Summer Derrey where she checks in with crews to get their take.

Clearing snow is a slow and methodical process. It’s sort of like peeling layers off an onion one by one. By early May, after weeks of clearing, eastside avalanche crews meet up with the west side Greenwater crew near the top of Chinook Pass.

But the pass is not open yet.

Maintenance crews need to reinstall all the highway signs. The signs are removed each year; otherwise, avalanches would rip the poles out of the ground, pushing the signs to the valley bottom. Crews also monitor weather and avalanche danger. The snow build-up along the rock walls will loosen and topple onto the highway when conditions warm up.

Click here to read the entire post.