Annual Closure
SR 20 is one of only three State Routes in Washington that have portions closed in the winter (the others being SR 410 and SR 123). Washington Pass (elevation 5,477 feet / 1,669 metres) and nearby Rainy Pass (elev. 4,875 ft/1,486 m) annually receive up to 15 ft (4.6 m) of snow throughout the winter, and are prone to avalanches leaving over 20 feet (6.1 m) of snow on the road.
As of December 2008, the median first open date was 20 April. The median final closure date was 26 November. During the drought of the winter of 1976–1977, the highway was not closed.
Read more about this topic: Washington State Route 20
Famous quotes containing the word annual:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)