ODOT closes McKenzie Pass Highway

With six inches of snow already accumulated on McKenzie Pass Highway and more expected, the Oregon Department of Transportation closed Highway 242 for the season on Tuesday, October 27.

The closure follows early season snowfall at and below the pass elevation of 5,325 feet.

After completing a final sweep to make sure no vehicles (along with campers, hunters or hikers) are parked along the road, ODOT will close and lock the snow gates on the east and west sides of the highway.

The scenic highway opened to vehicle traffic this year on Aug. 10, following completion of a nearly $4 million dollar modernization project that replaced two antiquated bridges on the west side of McKenzie Pass, repaired highway trouble spots, and repaved the west side of the Highway.

The open period is well below average compared with most years. The longest open period occurred in 1934, when the pass was open for 250 days. The shortest open period (due to weather) was 90 days in 1999. The highway has closed as early as October 18 (in 1996) and as late as January 10 (1939). The earliest open date was March 21 (in 1934) and the latest was July 29 (in 1999) due to heavy snow.