WENATCHEE – North Cascades Highway is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. Thursday, May 1, according to the state Department of Transportation.
     Highway workers predicted a May 1 opening date six weeks ago when they started clearing snow from the state’s northernmost highway through the Cascades.
     “When the gates swing open, drivers should find the road conditions bare and dry or bare and wet across the entire route,” according to the announcement.
     The forecast calls for more snow April 29-30 with high temperatures in the 30s. On May 1 that changes to no snow and warmer temperatures, according to the announcement.
     DOT Twisp maintenance supervisor Don Becker set the reopening at 8 a.m., which gives crews a couple hours to "sweep" the entire highway from Silver Star to Diablo and plow or clean up any snow that may have fallen overnight or any slough from avalanche chutes, the announcement continued.
     "An 8 a.m. Thursday opening provides the safety margin we need so the first drivers over the passes make their trip successfully," said Becker.
     East and west side crews met east of Rainy Pass Monday morning about 11 a.m., according to the announcement. All that’s needed is to widen and cut safety pullouts.
     “When compared to the last 30 years, opening the pass on May first is fairly typical,” said Becker. “We expected the clearing to take about six weeks if weather and equipment cooperated. We had some setbacks from both, but still made our goal.
      That’s a great tribute to the crew,” said Becker. “This winter’s snow fall was greater than we’ve seen in years on the west side and slides brought down a lot of rock, which limited the use of snow blowers through avalanche zones on both sides. That slowed the clearing.”
     Highway 20 has been closed since Dec. 4.
     Over the last 10 years, the pass has reopened for traffic between March 10 and May 7, according to the DOT. The latest opening was June 14, 1974. The re-opening effort has taken as little as two weeks to as many as eight.
     The highway remained open during the drought winter of 1976-77. More information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/passes/northcascades.