2/14/2008
U.S. 12 to remain closed into this weekend
LEWISTON - U.S. 12 will remained closed between Lowell and Lolo Pass into this weekend as Idaho Transportation Department crews continue to remove avalanche debris and assure the highway is safe for travel.
ITD is using nine pieces of equipment, including four rented trucks, to clear the last of two avalanches that occurred during the past week. One of the avalanches, at milepost 132, was approximately 30 feet deep and covered about 80 feet of the highway. A second avalanch covered about 50 feet of the highway at milepost 133 and was about 20 feet high.
Those avalanches were discovered Monday when crews returned to an area of the highway that had been restricted because of safety.
An afternoon avalanche closed the route on Jan. 31. Three other avalanches reached the highway sometime that night or early the following morning.
Aerial reconnaissance of the snow ridgeline above the highway is scheduled for Friday, said District 2 Maintenance Engineer Doral Hoff. An avalanche expert also plans walk the ridgeline and dig snow pits to determine the content of the snowpack and assess the risk of continued avalanches.