STEVENS PASS — It’s not just snow in the mountains that’s piling high this winter.
The cost to keep the state’s roads clear this season already has gone nearly $4.6 million over budget, state Department of Transportation officials said this week.
If the storms keep coming as some forecasters predict, the state could go over by as much as $8 million.
“The winter of ‘07-08 is one of the most severe in recent history,” said Chris Christopher, a transportation department spokesman.
In Snohomish County, it’s already cost about $125,000 more than anticipated to keep Stevens Pass clear this season.
The cost to plow the road, dig out snow slides and shoot avalanche-control shells onto hillsides along U.S. 2 is about 7 percent over budget, said Jeff Adamson, a transportation official assigned to Stevens Pass.
That’s compared to statewide figures where the cost is about 25 percent over budget, he said.
“Sure we’ve had more snow than a typical winter for the season. But Stevens Pass has not had the extraordinary avalanche issues Snoqualmie Pass has had,” he said.
The state’s main east-to-west highway, I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass, was closed for most of two weeks.
Heavy snow and dangerous avalanche conditions also have forced officials to close Stevens Pass for days in a row.
Road closure and avalanche danger closed the Stevens Pass ski resort for five consecutive days beginning Feb. 7.
“The sheer factor we couldn’t get to the ski resort, we couldn’t get to Stevens Pass, that’ll make it hard every time,” resort spokesman Chris Rudolph said.
Rudolph wouldn’t say exactly how much the closure costs the resort.
“Weekend business is our bread and butter,” Rudolph said. “We would prefer to be open. It’s in our best interest to be open.” For the most part, this year’s snowfall has been more of a good thing, than bad, he said.
“Mother Nature’s definitely on our side this time, almost too much,” Rudolph said. “There’s never too much snow. You can always dig and you can always shovel.”
In past years, the resort has been forced to close mid-season for lack of snow, he said.
The recent closures weren’t so much a result of the quantity of snow. Warming temperatures and rain at higher elevations weighed down the snowpack. Heavy, wet snow on top of existing, powdery snow is a recipe for an avalanche.
The ski resort sends 13 crews with air guns and explosives to clear away snow slides and make the slopes safer for skiers, Rudolph said.
Crews spent much of last week reopening all the runs at resort, he said.
With good weather planned for the Presidents Day weekend, plenty of skiers are expected to hit the slopes to make up for lost time.
The long-range forecast for the remainder of the winter is for a continuing La Nina weather pattern, meaning wetter and colder conditions than are typical.
State transportation officials said they could go as much as $8 million over budget if more snow falls, as expected.
For now, with clear skies predicted for the holiday weekend, weary road crews at Stevens Pass will take a much-deserved rest, Adamson said.
“All of those crews need the break. This has been a lot of hours and a lot of hard work,” he said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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