North Cascades Highway clear of snow, but won’t open until road repairs are complete
Apr 19, 2026, 12:36 PM
Snowplows from the east and west side of the highway have met in the middle. (Photo: Washington State Dept. of Transportation)
(Photo: Washington State Dept. of Transportation)
Crews working to clear snow and ice from North Cascades Highway say they’re getting closer to reopening the roadway.
Snow plows working to clear the east and west sides of the highway have now met in the middle, at Milepost 157 of SR 20.
That’s the good news.
But the bad news is, there’s still a large rockslide at milepost 134, and washouts between mileposts 142 and 146.
Even though the snow machines have cleared the highway, this rockslide on Highway 20 still has to be cleared before traffic can resume over the North Cascades. (Photo: Washington State Dept. of Transportation)
Washington State Dept. of Transportation officials say planning is now underway for emergency repairs at each of those sites.
Crews will continue to work to reopen the highway between 6:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m,, Monday through Thursday.
A washout at Milepost 145 still needs to be repaired. (Photo: Washington State Dept. of Transportation)
Clearing of the highway began March 23rd.
According to a WSDOT News Release, the road surface is rough and has compact snow and ice still in some places, and drainages have not been cleared so if there’s rain, there may be mud, dirt, snow slides, or runoff on the roadway.
Also, on Wednesday, 13 inches of fresh snow fell at Rainy Pass and seven inches at Washington Pass.
Road crews made plans to remove the new fresh snowfall over the weekend.
