News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The scenic road is closed every winter from about November 1 to June 30 due to snow blockade.
"Our snow plows are too wide to negotiate that road and meet oncoming traffic," explained Arlene Thomas, area maintenance coordinator with the Oregon Department of Transportation in Bend.
Sharp curves and a narrow road bed through the lava fields that spill down from Mt. Washington also limit travel to vehicles under 35 feet in length.
"Every year we get some truck or motor home stuck up there with tow trucks trying to pull them out from between the rocks," Thomas said.
ODOT will be installing larger signs to warn vehicles that the McKenzie Pass is impassable to vehicles larger than 35 feet, "and that includes motor homes pulling small cars," Thomas added.
This year pass travel was also threatened with a number of dead trees in a 2.5-mile stretch above and below the eastern snow gate above Sisters.
Killed by the spruce budworm, the trees were felled by local contractor Joel Aylor and will be cleaned up by the Forest Service over the summer, Thomas said.
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