THE NEXT ICE AGE - NOW!

6 May 11 - The Oregon Department of Transportation says McKenzie Pass isn't going to reopen any time soon, says this article on KTVZ.

"Right now, ODOT is debating when/if to plow the highway, since it's blocked by as much as 30 feet of snow," ODOT Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy said Friday.

"In recent memory, the snow has never been that high" at a location near the summit known as "the cut," where the snow piles up the deepest, Murphy said.

ODOT figures it would take $250,000 to clear the highway, money which could be better spent on potholes.

State Highway 242 was shut in late October due to early snow, "one of the earliest closures on record.

Last summer, crews had the highway cleared and open to all traffic on June 30, but no one is ready to put a date on this year's opening.

The first route over the McKenzie Pass, the original road was completed in 1872. A toll road, it connected the Willamette Valley with Camp Polk, near what is now Sisters.

See:
http://www.ktvz.com/news/27806287/detail.html

See also:
http://www.katu.com/news/121444804.html
Thanks to Chuck Clancy and Larry Brodkorb for these links