With fresh snow blanketing the mountains, highway crews are starting to end the seasonal battle to keep roadways open over the state’s highest passes.
The Mount Evans highway, the highest paved road in North America, officially was closed for the winter this week, and Independence Pass, Trail Ridge Road and Cottonwood Pass likely are not far behind.
“It gets to a point where the winter overrides their ability to keep the passes open and keep them safe,” said Bob Wilson, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Crews over the weekend were forced to close Independence Pass, between Twin Lakes and Aspen, but plows burst through the drifts to reopen the 12,095-foot pass on Sunday.
The road over the pass, Colorado 82, typically closes for the winter sometime between mid-October and mid-November, Wilson said, but it would be dependent on the autumn weather.
The U.S. Forest Service last weekend chose not to continue fighting the accumulating snow on 14,264-foot Mount Evans, however, closing the road for the season at Echo Lake.
“If the weather cooperates, the road will be opened on Memorial Day weekend in 2007” said Clear Creek District Ranger Daniel Lovato.
Meanwhile, Trail Ridge Road, U.S. 34 through Rocky Mountain National Park, remains open day-to-day until the weather gets too rough above timberline around the 12,183-foot high point.
Other routes with seasonal closures, such as Cottonwood Pass between Buena Vista and Crested Butte, also will remain open as conditions allow.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com.
