Sun Road should open by June 15

If the weather holds, Glacier National Park plows crews are expected to be at Logan Pass by May 25, and the Going-to-the-Sun Road should open all the way over Logan Pass by June 15, Park assistant superintendent Kym Hall said last week.

“We’re on track for a June 15 opening,” Hall said.

Hall made the announcement at a public meeting in Columbia Falls on May 16. Once the snow is cleared, it still takes a few weeks to clear the road of rocks and debris and to install removable guardrails at several locations, Hall said. The guardrails need to be bolted into place.

According to the Park’s contract with HK Construction, June 15 is the earliest the road could open. Up until that date, the company is provided full access to both lanes of the highway as it continues construction work from Avalanche Creek to the Logan Pit and from Haystack Creek to Big Bend.

When construction crews aren’t working, hikers and bikers can travel as far as the Bird Woman Overlook, about a hundred yards before Haystack Creek.

Construction crews haven’t been working at lower elevations on weekends. But on weekdays, the road is closed to hikers and bikers at the Avalanche Campground gate until 6 p.m.

The snowpack is about 105 percent above average at higher elevations, but the weather this spring has largely been conducive to plowing, particularly with the past week’s sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s.