Thanks for the photos, Pete. I agree it is mostly good news. More green than I was expecting to see. I'm looking forward to getting out and seeing it for myself.
ODOT has some aerial photos of the burn area in the following PDF.
Paul Turner said
ODOT has some aerial photos of the burn area in the following PDF.
Paul:
Thanks for posting this. One troubling thing in the document - it says work isn't scheduled to begin until Fall 2015. I certainly hope that doesn't mean 224 will be closed until NEXT winter!!!!
Just a bit of an update - from tripcheck.com:
Piloted escorts on OR 224 end at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23. Road opens to local traffic only between Promontory Park and the Carter Bridge. After nearly four months of full closures and piloted escorts due to fire and rockfalls along Oregon Highway 224, local travelers can now travel the highway at any time of day or night without an escort starting at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Hazards still exist on OR 224 along a nearly seven mile stretch between Promontory Park and the Carter Bridge due to the effects from the 36 Pit Fire. Local travelers should be alert to rocks and trees falling from the slopes and rocks in the roadway. Due to these hazards, the road will remain closed to all except local travelers. ODOT crews placed signs warning travelers about the hazards and have lowered the speed limit in areas where rockfall hazards exist. Due to the increased risk for rockfalls, ODOT can close the road if an immediate threat of rockfall is observed. A significant rockfall can also close OR 224. Travelers should carry an emergency kit in their vehicles and be prepared for emergency road closures due to rockfalls, slides, debris flows or downed trees. ODOT will evaluate opening OR 224 to all travel in the spring of 2015. Engineering geologists and engineers are in the early stages of designing a project to stabilize slopes in the area. Construction could begin in the fall of 2015.
One troubling thing in the document - it says work isn't scheduled to begin until Fall 2015. I certainly hope that doesn't mean 224 will be closed until NEXT winter!!!!
At this page ODOT/HWY OR 224 Hazards Closure ODOT states that they will look at a full opening in the spring, "When weather conditions have a lesser affect on the slope".Since soil and rock movement is greatly facilitated by rain and frost, mostly it happens only in the wet season, though like most rules there will be exceptions. Hopefully rockfall will stop once the heavy rains end so ODOT will open things up.Once while driving in the summer up to the caves near Mt. St. Helens, I passed two cars in the downhill lanes that had been disabled by rockfall - wasn't much that came down but enough to put front wheels in quite unnatural positions almost 90 degrees off straight ahead.
There should some attempt at a detour - even if we had to go over Mount Hood to do it. Snowplowing would do it.