Windy Ridge access reopens

U.S. Forest Service A massive washout shown here blocked motorized access to Windy Ridge. After a $350,000 repair, the Forest Service intends to reopen the road today.

Automobile access will reopen today to Windy Ridge, the spectacular lookout on the east side of Mount St. Helens above Spirit Lake.

Contractors working on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest have repaired a major washout of Forest Road 99 just beyond the Bear Meadow Viewpoint. Forest Service road workers discovered the washout a year ago, after attempting to reopen the road after its normal wintertime closure.

Forest officials believe the road washed out in January 2008.

Hikers and bicyclists were allowed through the narrow ledge last summer, but motorized access was delayed until contractors were able to finish a $350,000 repair. Another $225,000 was spent on patching noticeable cracks undergirding other areas of the two-lane roadway, converted from an old gravel logging road in the late 1980s so tourists could visit the blast zone northeast of the volcano.

"We’re just thrilled to have the road opened," said Ron Freeman, the Gifford Pinchot’s public services director.

The Cascade Peaks visitors center on the road to Windy Ridge will open July 9, providing visitors with interpretive exhibits, snacks and visitor information. The facility will be open Thursdays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Labor Day.

Freeman said the Forest Service was also able to install a temporary one-lane bridge along Forest Road 25 north of its junction with the road to Windy Ridge. When they tried to reopen the major north-south thoroughfare after its normal winter closure, Forest Service workers discovered a massive landslide had taken out a bridge installed only 13 years ago across Benham Creek.

"This landslide was ridgetop to valley floor," Freeman said, adding that a permanent bridge replacement could cost millions of dollars.

Visitors must possess a Northwest Forest Pass, which costs $5 for a daily version and can be acquired via fee tubes along Forest Road 99, the Lone Fir Resort in Cougar, the Pine Creek Information Station or the Randle Ranger Station.

Admission to the Johnston Ridge Observatory costs $8 for visitors 16 and older. The observatory, which is only accessible from the west at the end of state Highway 504, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.