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| 11/7/2006 |
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For More Information Contact:
Heidi Hiaasen, Public Affairs
541-388-6178
ODOT to close McKenzie Pass Highway (OR 242) at 3 p.m.
McKENZIE BRIDGE – It’s a sure sign winter has arrived in the Oregon Cascades.
The Oregon Department of Transportation will close the McKenzie Pass Highway (OR 242) for the season at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7. The closure comes with heavy snow forecast at the pass elevation, which is 5,325 feet. The National Weather Service is predicting 2 inches of snow at 5,000 feet after midnight, with snow showers expected above 3,500 feet through the week.
The highway is the original alignment of the McKenzie Highway (OR 126) between Springfield and Sisters, and is open only during the summer travel season. It opened to vehicle traffic this year on June 29.
The 132-day open period is slightly below average compared with most years. The longest open period occurred in 1934, when the pass was open for 250 days. The shortest open period was 90 days in 1999. The highway has closed as early as Oct. 18 (in 1996) and as late as Jan. 10 (1939). The earliest open date was March 21 (in 1934) and the latest was July 29 (in 1999).
Built in the mid-1930s, the highway became a seasonal scenic highway in the 1960s with the completion of the Clear Lake-Belknap Springs section of OR 126. Even during its tenure as the main route between the southern Willamette Valley and central Oregon, the narrow, twisting roadway and high elevation made the highway too difficult to maintain and keep clear during the winter months. During the summer, about 300 cars a day travel the highway.
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