Snow closes McKenzie Pass at earliest date ever
Failed to execute CGI : Win32 Error Code = 3The Oregon Department of Transportation closed the McKenzie Pass on Friday, October 18. This is the earliest closing of the pass since 1925 when records were first kept.
ODOT said the 12 inches of snowfall expected for Friday night would create conditions hazardous for both highway maintenance crews and the public.
"Plows used to maintain modern highways cannot fit onto one side of the narrow McKenzie Highway and the sharp, blind corners greatly increase chances of collision between plows and highway users in heavy snow conditions," ODOT wrote in a prepared press release faxed to the news media Friday morning.
From Sisters, the McKenzie Highway climbs west through the pine forests, snakes across lava fields between the North Sister and Mt. Washington, then plunges through a series of switchbacks into the McKenzie Canyon.
Built by pioneer John Craig in 1872, the road was the first highway over the mountains between Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley. Craig died in a snow storm at the summit in 1877 while carrying mail from McKenzie Bridge to Camp Polk, which later became Sisters.
Until this year, the earliest closing of the McKenzie Highway was October 19, which occurred in both 1979 and 1985.