VERLOT — There’s been a sudden — and pleasant– turnaround for the Mountain Loop Highway.
A few weeks ago, repairs to reopen the popular road through the foothills had stalled, and its near-term future seemed in doubt.
The problem was cleared up quickly, however. Road crews got back to work, and now there’s good news to report: As of Thursday, both lanes of the highway opened for the first time since December.
While that clears up one impasse, heavy snowpack is keeping the highway’s Deer Creek gate closed about 3 miles away. Still, successful repairs are a welcome development for people counting on tourists coming through Granite Falls, Darrington and other points along the route.
“If the Mountain Loop Highway wasn’t open as we’re heading into our peak season, it would have had a significant effect on our economics, for sure,” said Randy Farrell, a marketing company co-owner and secretary of the recently formed Mountain Loop Tourism Bureau.
The Mountain Loop connects Granite Falls to Darrington through a scenic 50-mile asphalt and dirt road. It’s also the route to the Big Four Ice Caves, campgrounds and historic sites. About 100,000 people traveled the road between May and September last year.
A landslide in December blocked part of the road about a mile west of Silverton. Then, heavy rains in January swelled the river, causing the water to erode the slope below the road. The road was closed to one lane and open only to locals as repairs went ahead, starting in March.
The Mountain Loop Highway is a federal road on U.S. Forest Service land. The county does repairs as a contractor. In mid-May, the Federal Highway Administration, which is paying for the work, asked county crews to stop so an environmental review could take place. About a week later, the county was told it could resume.
County Executive Aaron Reardon, in a press release Thursday, praised county road crews for their diligent work to reopen the highway.
To date, the county has spent about $800,000. The completed project is expected to cost up to $2 million. Crews plan to continue laying asphalt and doing other work while traffic uses the newly opened lanes.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Check ahead
The Mountain Loop Highway’s Deer Creek gate at mile post 23 is expected to remain closed through at least mid-June because of snow and ice. Here are ways to check whether the road is open before venturing up there:
The U.S. Forest Service website at www.fs.usda.gov/mbs and look for the “road/trail conditions” tab on the right side of the page.
Call local Forest Service offices during business hours at 360-436-1155 or 360-691-7791.
Go to www.snoco.org, enter the search term “roads central” and look up the Mountain Loop Highway under “current road and bridge projects.”
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