McKenzie Pass plowing underway

Thanks to a below average snowfall this winter, hard work by Oregon Department of Transportation crews this spring, and new snowplowing equipment, the McKenzie Pass Scenic Highway 242 may open earlier than usual this year, according to David Neys, transportation supervisor with ODOT in Bend.

“We are about a month ahead of the normal schedule on plowing,” Neys said last week. “Our crews have been plowing snow for several weeks now. While there is still some snow on the road where we plowed, it is melting.”

Use of new snow blowing equipment mounted on the front of a large front-end loader has made the work go faster this year, Neys explained. The $200,000 piece of equipment mounted on the $100,000 loader cuts through the deep snow by making several passes into the drifts.

The design allows the equipment to climb onto the snow drift rather than requiring it to remain on solid ground and work harder as with most snow-blowing equipment.

“We can make up to two miles an hour plowing if snow conditions are right, a shorter distance if the snow is heavy and wet,” Neys said. A separate motor on the blower runs large screws that collect the snow. The snow is then blown over 30 feet in the air and up to 70 feet in any direction that the operator chooses.

The equipment creates an opening through the snow about eight feet wide, enough to help start the melting process and to allow non-motorized access before the road is open to vehicle traffic.

Operating the equipment is challenging, searching for the location of the road in the deep drifts and avoiding overhanging and fallen rocks on the roadway. Because the highway is a popular scenic route, ODOT crews take special care to avoid damaging roadside rocks.

In an average year, opening the roads costs about $90,000.

Even with the snowfall below average this year, there are still nine-foot drifts in the deep notch just east of the summit and 11-foot drifts to the west where snowfall is usually heavier.

“Because we are testing this new equipment that has only 37 hours of use to date, we contacted ODOT crews on the west side of the pass and offered to keep plowing beyond where we normally stop near the summit,” Neys said. “They told us to go ahead, so we will keep plowing to the Obsidian Trailhead.”

That’s good news for bicyclists, joggers, and hikers who enjoy traveling the McKenzie Highway before it is open to vehicles. With the added early plowing about six miles west of the summit, these early travelers will have over 10 miles of plowed road to enjoy.

“Weather permitting, we may be able to open the highway to non-motorized travelers in several weeks,” Neys explained. In recent years, ODOT has done this for several weeks before vehicles are allowed to use the highway.

Bicycle and pedestrian traffic should remain alert for USFS and ODOT vehicles.