Date:
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Contact:
Dustin Terpening, WSDOT Communications, 360-757-5997 (Burlington)
Ron Morton, Maintenance Superintendent, 360-788-2505 (Bellingham)
WSDOT maintenance crews will close Mount Baker Highway (SR 542) today at 5 p.m. near the Mount Baker ski area for avalanche control. Crews will use explosives to bring down snow above the highway.
The highway may open Tuesday evening if everything goes as planned. Depending on how much snow hits the highway, the road may not open until Wednesday afternoon, in a worst case scenario.
WSDOT closed the highway east of Glacier at 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8 for fear of avalanches hitting the highway. An avalanche hit the highway Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. burying the road with snow 12 feet deep and 300 feet long. Crews spent the rest of Saturday doing avalanche control, using explosives to bring down snow in four other areas. The highway opened Sunday morning.
To see pictures of the work WSDOT crews have done over the last several weeks in the passes, visit www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot.
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