Sun Road closure has silver lining

A big section of Going-to-the-Sun Road is closing to vehicle traffic at 10 p.m. this Sunday - quite a bit early compared to recent years when the closure came about in mid-October.

But it's a necessity with a silver lining.

For one thing, Sun Road is not actually "closing." It is only closed from Avalanche to Siyeh Bend east of Logan Pass to allow for continued storm damage repairs, along with work that is scheduled as part of a comprehensive, multi-year road rehabilitation project.

Lower portions of the road will be open to vehicles, and hikers and bikers will have exclusive access to the road from Avalanche and the Packers Roost Area. Hiker-biker access has grown to be a popular park attraction in the park for locals who like to use the road without tangling with traffic.

The work that will get under way this fall is essential. Extensive flood damage from last fall's "pineapple express" storm will be completed, including the repair of a huge washout that required a temporary bridge near the East Tunnel this summer.

And finally, after more than a decade of planning, this year was the first for the comprehensive rehabilitation project to get under way. This is the work that hasn't been done since the road opened in 1933; this is the work that's aimed at preventing catastrophic failures that could unexpectedly close the road in the future.

The good news is that during future "shoulder season" closures, Logan Pass will be accessible from one side of the park or the other. The only reason it's not this year is that most of the storm damage work is east of the pass, while the rehabilitation work is being conducted west of the pass.

The bottom line is that for locals, Glacier Park will have plenty to offer, even when shoulder season road work is under way.

And by the way, if you decide to take advantage of this weekend's opportunity to travel across the entire Sun Road, you should be aware that the Logan Pass Visitor Center will close for the season at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.