WINTHROP – Construction work continues on a series of enhancement projects for the North Cascade Highway’s Washington Pass Overlook.
     The Overlook will remain closed through July, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
     Forest Service crews and contractors will install concrete outhouses, pave trails, set-up an information kiosk and re-stripe the parking area. The project also will add new picnic sites and reconstruct existing picnic sites to improve accessibility.
     Funding came from the Federal Highway Administration, which finances construction and enhancement projects on highways passing through forests.
     “Washington Pass is a beautiful place to stop along the North Cascades Scenic Highway and the views from the overlook are spectacular,” Methow Valley Ranger District Recreation Program Manager Jennifer Zbyszewski.
     “These improvements will let us leave the overlook open well into the fall season, and offer better picnic sites and information,” she said.
     Next year’s improvement plans include replacing the railing at Washington Pass Overlook and repaving the trail to the overlook.
- Prepared by Omak Chronicle staff