Snoqualmie Pass Undressed

Interstate 90 Construction Completed

For those of you traveling up and over Snoqualmie Pass this past few months, you have most likely run into various construction projects along the way.  Well, I am happy to report that the 2009 Snoqualmie Pass road construction project have been wrapped up for the season.  Most of the crews are happy with their timeline, as their goal was to have the projects complete prior to the arrival of snow in The Pass.  We have a few inches fall this week, but today the snow level is climbing back to 10,000 ft.

The construction I-90 Construction projects were: the I-90 Yakima River to west Ellensburg Paver,  the I-90 Slide Curve to Cabin Creek Paver, Traffic camera upgrades along Snoqualmie Pass, and  the I-90 Snoqualmie Summit to Hyak westbound dowel bar retrofit / concrete rehabilitation.

All of these projects were designed to increase traffic flow through Snoqualmie Pass, minimize closures due to avalanche control, and elleviate the large back ups when closers are necessary.  Due to the early cold, wet weather and snow, construction crews will have to complete permanent roadway striping in the spring. Next year, WSDOT will replace the remaining three miles of the westbound I-90 Lake Easton to Bullfrog project.  I will keep you posted on my experience traveling through Snoqualmie Pass.  For more on this article click on Snoqualmie Pass Construction Project.

Pleasant Labor Day Travels?

If you are leaving this weekend for a holiday getaway, timing your departure and return is critical in having a stress free, enjoyable commute to your destination.  Snoqualmie Pass is one area that you want to be very cognizant of the traffic pattern.  By simply avoiding the peak travel times, you can arrive at your destination calm and refreshed.  The Department of Transportation does an excellent job of providing statistics that are beneficial to our travel plans.  Click here for more information.

Snoqualmie Pass – Incidents to Cause Target Shooting Closures Along I-90

If you were thinking about getting some target practice along the I-90 corridor, you may want to reconsider and choose an alternative location.  Due to shooting incidents The Mount Baker National Forest has decided to close several roads along the interstate, starting this weekend.

The closure area encompasses the valley bottom that follows the I-90 freeway corridor from Exit 38 to the top of Snoqualmie Pass. The Tinkham and Denny Creek roads are included.

“We have a serious public safety concern,” said Snoqualmie District Ranger Jim Franzel. “If we don’t do something immediately, someone will get hurt. We are closing the smallest land area possible to prevent an injury and provide for public safety.”

The target shooting closure area encompasses concentrated recreation uses with multiple roads, campgrounds, trailheads and picnic areas.

Franzel said the local geography doesn’t provide for natural target shooting backstops, so target shooters often use trees and vegetation as backstops, not realizing there may be a trailhead or people recreating within range.

Although unsafe target shooting has been a growing problem on national forest lands adjacent to I-90, recent near-misses of road repair workers and shooting across roads has elevated the concern. “Peak visitor use is during the summer and additional road repair and trail reconstruction is scheduled,” Franzel said.

Target shooting regulations remain unchanged everywhere else on the district. The Code of Federal Regulations prohibits discharging firearms within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area. Violators can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned up to six months in jail. Signs are posted marking closed areas.

This is a temporary emergency closure. The forest will consider the need for a permanent closure in one year. Franzel said that target shooting in high-use recreation areas has increased over the years, along with associated environmental damage and dumped trash.

Don’t Get Stuck on I-90…for hours!

The other day, I decided to head up to Snoqualmie Pass for a couple of hours of snow boarding.  I made it to within one mile of the Denny Creek exit where the traffic was stopped, before we were forced to park on the highway for avalance control.  We sat on the highway for 3.5 hours….. and by the time the roads were re-opened, our window of opportunity had expired, and we simply turned around and headed back to Seattle.  Now this is the one time in quite awhile, that I did not call ahead to the Department of Transportation to check the report prior to departure. 

The safest procedure is to call the Ski Report hotline at Snoqualmie Pass, as well as the DOT, as most of the time following a large dumpage of fresh powder, there will be avalanche control.  You can access both of these phone numbers, as well as both Snow Cams and Road Cams on my website at: www.snoqualmiepassliving.com.

I have also found that if you get out of town early (which you should be doing anyway if you want to be “gettin the fresheees”) you will ususally just miss the avalance control on the way up.  Also, make sure that you check the reports on your way back down, as rather than sitting in the “I-90 Parking lot”, you could get a few more runs in and have an effortless commute home.

Now, a more advanced method of dealing with this continuous challenge is to own a home in Snoqualmie Pass.  If I anticipate that we are going to have an epic powder day, I may decide to head up to Snoqalmie Pass the night before and stay at our home in Hyak, and be fully prepared for a memorable powder day without any commuting challenges.  With property values at an all time low, there are some exceptional mountain homes available right now.  See the ”Homes for Sale” link from the website: www.snoqualmiepassliving.com.

There Are Now 6 Snoqualmie Pass Traffic Cameras

They can help you, so be sure and come by and check them out by following this link to the Snoqualmie Pass Traffic Cams. See what I mean?

Oh, its 9:20PM, big help eh?

On many of our blogs our real estate agents post links to the local DOT cameras in the right side bar. http://IssaquahUndressed.com/ as an example.