The annual effort to reopen the North Cascades Highway will begin Monday (March 16) from the east side, and work from the west side will start on March 23, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT said Wednesday (March 11). “Stabilization work on a rock slope west of Rainy Pass is expected to be finished […]
Highway 20
Rains clog Highway 153 culvert, but road remains open to traffic
By Ann McCreary and Laurelle Walsh
A 4-foot diameter culvert installed this summer to contain runoff from the Leecher Creek drainage became plugged with mud and debris brought down by rain Thursday afternoon (Dec. 11) and sent water over State Highway 153 again. The culvert was installed after …
Snow slides close North Cascades Hwy. for winter
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) said Monday (Nov. 24) that the North Cascades Highway is closed for the winter. WSDOT temporarily closed Highway 20 at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday (Nov. 23) due to heavy snowfall and a snow slide in the Liberty Bell zone east of Washington Pass. After Monday’s assessment by maintenance […]
N. Cascades Highway to be closed for repairs next week
Here’s an alert for motorists who plan to use the North Cascades Scenic Highway (state Highway 20) next week: The highway will be closed to through traffic from 6 a.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 21) until 4 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 22), according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). WSDOT said in a press […]
Repair work continues on damaged highways
By Ann McCreary
Highway 153 remains closed south of Benson Creek while state transportation officials try to reach agreement with a landowner in order to repair damage caused by flooding and mudslides last month. Work continues on other damaged sections of …
Detours will continue as repairs made on state highways
By Ann McCreary
Motorists should expect detours and delays to continue for several weeks on state highways 20 and 153, which were extensively damaged in recent floods and mudslides. Sections of both highways — two of the three highways that access the Methow Valley — were washed out …
Repairs underway on slide-damaged state highways
Work is underway on repairing two state highways that were heavily damaged in recent mudslides. An emergency contract for the repairs was awarded to Rains Construction of Malott, which has begun work on road washouts along about four miles of Highway 20 on the Methow Valley side of Loup Loup Pass, and another four miles […]
Motorcyclist, passenger hospitalized after Highway 20 crash
A motorcyclist and his passenger, both from Oregon, were hospitalized Sunday (Aug. 17) with injuries resulting from a three-motorcycle crash on Highway 20 about four miles west of Mazama, according to the Washington State Patrol (WSP). The WSP report said that motorcycle operated by Alain P. Cote, 59, of Calgary, Alberta, another motorcycle operated by […]
Motorcyclist injured on Highway 20
A Sedro-Woolley man was injured Tuesday morning (June 3) when his motorcycle crashed on Highway 20 about 10 miles east of Twisp, the Washington State Patrol reported. Darrell L. Katarzy, 67, was alone on his motorcycle heading eastbound at about 8:45 a.m. when the bike left the roadway as Katarzy attempted to negotiate a curve, […]
2014 North Cascades Pass opening
On schedule – actually, a few minutes ahead of schedule – the Silver Star gate on Highway 20 west of Mazama swung open just before noon Thursday (May 8) and westbound motorists began driving over Washington Pass. Meanwhile, valley-bound traffic headed over from the west side, led by a contingent of motorcyclists. A few hardy bicyclists also pedaled up to the pass to celebrate the seasonal opening of the North Cascades Highway.