Gifford Pinchot National Forest

	USDA Forest Service Gifford Pinchot National Forest
For Immediate Release: October 03, 2008
Contact: Chris Strebig (360) 891-5005 or Roger Peterson (360) 891-5007

Scheduled repair of Forest Roads 99 and 26 northeast of Mount St. Helens will begin October 10th

During reconstruction, Roads 99 and 26 will be closed to all uses (including hikers and bicycles). Access to NE side will be by the Boundary Trail at Bear Meadows.

AMBOY, WA – Forest officials have announced closure of Forest Roads 99 and 26 northeast of Mount St. Helens to all uses (including foot and bicycle traffic) beginning Friday, October 10, 2008. This will allow road crews to make repairs in a timely manner during a lower use period for this road, which normally carries hundreds of vehicles daily during peak summer travel. Making the repairs to Forest Road 99 this fall will allow for the road to Windy Ridge to reopen early next summer for visitors to Mount St. Helens.

The road will remain closed this fall for repair of landslide and flood damaged roadway and pavement. “Construction crews and heavy equipment will be excavating, hauling rock and repairing slumping roadway at multiple sites,” said Tom Mulder, Monument Manager. “Keeping hikers and bikers out of harms way is necessary so that crews can complete repairs within a narrow timeframe this fall. We’re hoping to complete paving and reopen the 99 and 26 roads as soon as possible after the snow melts next season,” Mulder added.

Attention Hunters, Hikers and Bikers:

• Forest Road 99 will be closed to all uses at the gate at Bear Meadows Viewpoint. The parking lot at Bear Meadow Viewpoint will be available for single vehicles only due to limited parking and limited turn around clearance. A Northwest Forest Recreation Day Pass or Annual Pass is required for parking at Bear Meadows. Vehicles with trailers should use the parking lot at Wakepish Sno-Park (junction of Forest Roads 99 and 25).

• Hikers and bikers can access the northeast side via the Boundary Trail between Bear Meadows and Norway Pass. Use extra caution when crossing Forest Road 26 at Norway Pass Trailhead. Other than crossing Road 26 on the Boundary Trail at Norway Pass Trailhead, foot and bicycle traffic will not be permitted on Forest Roads 26 or 99. Forest Road 99 is closed to all uses between Bear Meadows and Windy Ridge and Forest Road 26 is closed to all uses south of Ryan Lake.
  

For location information please see the Monument Recreation Map:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm/volcanoreview/documents/Volcano_Review_2008_Final_lowrez-207.pdf

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Click here for photos of the damage to Forest Road 99

Click here for a copy of the National Forest Road Systems Roads and Special Areas Closure (Adobe Acrobat PDF format - 251kb)

US Forest Service
Gifford Pinchot National Forest - Vancouver, WA
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Amboy, WA
Last Modified: Friday, 17 October 2008 at 14:18:01 EDT