Plow crews knock down Big Drift

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier National Park snow plows have been chiseling into the infamous Big Drift at Logan Pass this week.

?They started working on it early this week, June 23, and it was 70 to 75 feet deep,? said Melissa Wilson, Glacier?s public information officer.

That?s an average depth for the drift, which forms in the same location every year due to wind and topography. It is typically the biggest obstacle in the annual snow clearing effort.

?They are mostly through it,? Wilson said Thursday. ?They are hoping to reach pavement today.?

Once that happens, crews will gradually widen the road lanes. And there is more work to be done before the road can be opened to vehicles over Logan Pass.

Removable guardrails and signs have to be installed. Crews will clean debris from the road, fix potholes, clear snow from the parking lot and prepare the visitor center at Logan Pass for public use.

This year?s opening will be later than average, largely due to protracted winter conditions in Northwest Montana, with heavy snow falling on Glacier well into June. Since 1933, the median opening date at Logan Pass is June 8, according to U.S. Geological Survey records.

Last year, the road opened over the pass on July 1. The delay was mostly due to severe storm damage from the previous fall that had to be repaired before the road could open.

All other Glacier Park roads, except for a section of the Inside North Fork Road, are open.

By noon Saturday, Glacier Park officials will open the road during daytime hours on the west side to vehicle traffic up to the Big Bend. Hiker and biker traffic will not be allowed beyond Big Bend.

From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily, vehicle traffic will be stopped at Avalanche.