MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video is from previous reporting on the conditions necessary to reopen State Route 20 from March 2019.
The North Cascades Highway, otherwise known as State Route 20, is set to reopen Wednesday, May 5, after a months-long closure. The gate will open at 1 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted Tuesday that crews were wrapping up final repairs and avalanche control work along the highway. WSDOT asked anyone attending the gate opening to wear a mask and keep a good physical distance from other attendees.
The highway closed for the winter on November 13. Crews from the east and west sides of the SR 20 worked to remove snow from the roadway and repair signs, guardrails and pavement damaged during the winter.
The roadway is open to bicyclists before it will open cars. The last chance to ride along the highway before it reopens will be Tuesday after 4 p.m.
SR 20 is the northernmost route across the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington. It's also part of the Cascade Loop, which is a 400-mile driving tour through the Cascades, according to WSDOT.
State Route 20 reopened on May 12 in 2020. In 2019, the roadway was accessible nearly a whole month earlier, on April 19. The earliest ever reopening was in 2005, on March 10.