Park to begin plowing Sun Road April 1
Crews clear the Going-to-the-Sun-Road in Glacier National Park in June 2008. (File photo)
Glacier National Park announced it will begin plowing the Going-to-the-Sun Road next Thursday (April 1) as well as the Camas Road.
Usually park officials let the Camas Road melt out on its own, but this year, there is little snow. Crews will clear the road of its meager snowload so it will open sooner.
The Camas Road is a popular spring drive on Glacier's west side and provides access to several trailheads. Plowing on the east side has already started. Crews began plowing the Chief Mountain Road on the east side last week and have already done some plowing in Apgar village.
Once Chief Mountain is clear, Park plows will work their way south on the east side, clearing the Many Glacier Road, The Two Medicine Road and the Sun Road.
Those roads will open to traffic as conditions allow — roads that are plowed are often still too icy to drive initially. The Many Glacier Road, even if it's clear, won't open until the third weekend in April to vehicles to ensure wildlife security in the valley.
On the Sun Road's west side, the road will open to Avalanche Creek when road conditions and construction activity will allow it.
The earliest the Sun Road will open to Logan Pass this year will be June 18. That opening allows for construction crews to begin work on the highway.
Bolstered by $27 million in federal stimulus money, reconstruction is scheduled on both sides of the Sun Road near Logan Pass through the summer. Crews on the east side will work from the Pass to Siyeh Bend and on the west side from Big Bend to Logan Pass.
In addition to that work, contractor HK Construction will continue drainage and sub-base road rehabilitation along Upper McDonald Creek beyond Avalanche Creek this spring.
The Sun Road on the west side won't open farther than Avalanche Creek to vehicles until Logan Pass opens. Hikers and bikers, however, flock to the road to enjoy the relative peace and quiet in Glacier before the summer visitor season.
On the east side of the Sun Road, the segment from St. Mary Campground to Rising Sun Campground will open for vehicles, and subsequently, the road will then open from Rising Sun to Jackson Glacier Overlook as conditions permit.
The Inside North Fork Road and the Cut Bank Road aren't plowed — they melt out and open later in the spring.