Upper part of Sun Road closes for season

The Daily Inter Lake

The alpine portion of Going-to-the-Sun Road has been closed for the winter in Glacier National Park.

The alpine portion of Going-to-the-Sun Road has been closed for the winter in Glacier National Park.

Wintry weather and contract work on the upper portions of the road prompted Monday's closure, Glacier Superintendent Mick Holm said.

"Winter weather has arrived a little sooner than expected in the high country, and we don't want to have visitors or work crews in the upper section of the roadway caught in conditions that make work or sightseeing unsafe," Holm said.

The closure will help a park road contractor complete some remaining work and remove construction equipment before weather worsens, Holm said.

The closure also will allow park road crews to remove barricades, signs and equipment from the road before heavy snow arrives.

The alpine section of the road will remain open to hikers and bikers, Holm said. "We ask that visitors exercise caution and heed all warning signs posted in the park."

The road is currently closed to vehicles at Avalanche on the west side of Logan Pass and at Rising Sun on the east side.

If the weather improves, Holm said, the road could be reopened to vehicles as far as the Loop on the west side and as far as Logan Pass from the east side.