A popular forest road near the north end of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest will reopen next month after officials dedicate a recently replaced bridge.
The Benham Creek Bridge on Forest Road 25 was washed out in a landslide in December 2008, according to the forest service. A temporary span opened in 2009 before crews again closed the road this year to install a permanent, stronger replacement at milepost 13.5.
Forest Road 25 is one of the more popular routes in the Gifford Pinchot forest and the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, according to the forest service. The road accesses the east side of the mountain, Forest Road 99 and the Wakepish Sno-Park during the winter.
A dedication ceremony and ribbon-cutting at the Benham Creek site is set for June 29. A final inspection will follow before the bridge opens on July 2. Road conditions and snow may still affect through travel, according to the forest service.
