Road Construction Closes Mountain Loop Highway

The American Alpine Institute just received the following email from Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest:

Weekday Access to Through Traffic Blocked

Everett, Wash. March 4, 2010— The Forest Service is closing Mountain Loop Highway 7 a.m. Monday through noon Friday beginning March 8 until the end of April. It will open on weekends. Workers will close various locations from mile post 42, south of White Chuck Bench Overlook, to mile post 35, south of Bedal Creek Bridge.

Closures next week on the north side of Mountain Loop Highway will block access from Darrington to forest road 49 and Sloan Creek Trailhead, which leads to Glacier Peak Wilderness. Hikers will need to come from Granite Falls to reach that trailhead.

The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest is making road upgrades, including replacing older, deteriorating culverts and upsizing culverts to better accommodate the passage of fish and flood waters.

Call Darrington Ranger District for updates weekdays at 360-436-1155, or Verlot Public Service Center weekends at 360-691-7791. For updated information about trails and roads, go to alerts and conditions on http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/