Story Photos
 A huge washout on Road 99 east of Mount St. Helens blocks access to Windy Ridge. Courtesy U.S. Forest Service
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Popular Mount St. Helens road to remain closed through summer
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11:37 PM PDT
By Tom Paulu
Printable version
E-mail this articleMelting snow has revealed another major road washout near Mount St. Helens.
Because of the recently discovered damage, the Forest Service has closed the upper 11 miles of its Road 99, which leads to Windy Ridge, at least through the summer season.
Road 99 enters the core of the area devastated by the 1980 eruption, and terminates at the Windy Ridge viewpoint. It offers views of Spirit Lake not seen from the upper part of Spirit Lake Memorial Highway.
In recent years, about 100,000 people have visited Windy Ridge annually, said Chris Strebig, a Forest Service spokesman.
Once the snow melts out in the late spring, Forest Service road crews typically have to repair small slides along Road 99, Strebig said.
But last fall’s heavy storms created a huge washout about 100 feet long, two miles past Bear Meadows.
Strebig said engineers and geologists are studying the washout and should know in a few weeks how much repair work will be needed. The cost will likely be “in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Strebig said.
This summer, the lower six miles of Road 99 are open to the Bear Meadows interpretive site, where there’s a parking lot and good place to turn around.
From Bear Meadows, energetic hikers or bicycle riders can continue. It’s approximately 11 miles one-way from Bear Meadows to Windy Ridge.
In some years, it’s possible to reach the upper part of Road 99 over Road 26. But Road 26 is washed out above Ryan Lake and may not be repaired.
The good news is that Road 25 between Randle and Swift Reservoir is now open, with only minor delays at a bridge construction project at Woods Creek. Secondary roads off of Road 25 may have snowdrifts, fallen trees, and rocks.
Other closures:
• Because of flood damage in 2006, Road 81 on the south side of Mount St. Helens remains closed between Kalama Horse Camp and Road 830 leading to Climbers Bivouac. Construction to repair this section of road is scheduled for the summer of 2009. Road access to the Climbers Bivouac is now over the eastern end of Road 81.
• Road 83 is closed to motorized traffic east of the Marble Mountain Sno-Park, blocking access to the Lahar and Lava Canyon. Repairs this section of road may begin in late summer.
• Road 23, a major cross-forest route between Randle and Trout Lake, remains closed by snow. A washout just north of the junction with Road 90 means access to Takhlakh Lake will only be possible heading south from Randle. Construction to repair this section of road will begin later this summer.
Loowit wrote on Jul 24, 2008 7:29 AM:
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