Watch the video on opening day. Driving from Alpine Lake to Kinney Lake.

On State Route 4 (SR-4)/Ebbetts Pass in Alpine County, Caltrans, District 10 Director Dan McElhinney joined D10 Maintenance teams today snow plowing a break through to clear the pass, which could be open to traffic soon after Memorial Day pending this weekend’s expected snow storms.

CALTRANS CREWS REACH HERMIT VALLEY

Watch the video

CALTRANS CREWS REACH MOSQUITO LAKE ON STATE ROUTE 4/EBBETTS PASS

Seasonal Clearing of the High Sierra Routes Continues Despite Blanket of New Snow

If you know Mosquito Lake, you might be able to pick out the rooftops of the summer cabins poking out above the deep drifts surrounding the frozen surface of the lake.

Camp Connell Maintenance Supervisor Mike Johnson shot this video earlier today (Friday, May 17, 2019) of the crew working their way around the upper (westernmost) lake.

Our crews are continuing to work on the seasonal clearing of pass roadways in District 10 even though our passes continue to be impacted by additional snowfall, likely with more to come this weekend.

CALTRANS CREWS REACH TOP OF EBBETTS PASS- Elevation 8,730

Caltrans Woodfords crew has reached the top of Ebbetts Pass as of 3:00 today (Tuesday, May 14, 2019).

There is a screenshot at the end of the video from the altimeter of the blower that was taken in the little saddle just below the pass. That’s why it reads 8,691’ instead of 8,730’.

They are continuing down the west slope.

The US National Weather Service Sacramento California has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra which is likely to slow the progress towards getting the routes open for the season with a foot of snow or more forecast!

Once the roads are cleared and before the routes can be reopened to the public, we will need to inspect the road and repair any damage from the winter- this includes pavement, striping, guardrails signs, downed trees, rock slides, etc.

Caltrans will continue to have crews clearing snow while it is safe to do so- we may have to divert some resources to lower elevations to deal with any storm impacts.

Our goal each year is to try to open the routes before Memorial Day weekend if possible given the importance to the local economy to communities on both sides of the Sierra- that said, we needed everything to go our way to make it this year and Mother Nature is not playing nice right now, so there is no current ETO (Estimated Time of Opening).

Nearing the Summit With A Big Storm Coming!

We just got some video of our Woodfords Area crew working their way up the eastern slope of State Route 4/Ebbetts Pass.

Crew member James Adams shot the video this morning just above Kinney Reservoir.

He sent a photo of the ice on Kinney Reservoir and the a pickup parked in front of the blower cut to give an idea of how deep the snow pack is up there.

As of 11:00 am today (Monday, 5/13/19) the crew is just about a mile from the summit of Ebbetts Pass. Once they crest the summit, they'll keep working west until they meet up with our Camp Connell crew coming up the other side!

The US National Weather Service Sacramento California is forecasting up to a foot of new snow from a strong spring storm later in the week, so winter maintains its icy grip on the Sierra for now.

Here's some footage that Camp Connell Maintenance Supervisor Mike Johnson shot yesterday (5/8/19) nearing Jackass Bridge (the wide spot after Cape Horn west of Mosquito Lake).

For you gear-heads, the Osh Kosh is on the left and is rated at 2,500 tons/hour and has two motors that power the drive train and blower separately, a CAT 13 and a CAT 18- it's one of our newer machines.

The Kodiak is on the right and it's rated at 5,000 tons/hour with a V12 CAT engine rated at 900 HP. This machine has been in service since the mid-1990s and is a technological marvel with hydrostatic-drive that utilizes hydraulics for both the drive train and the blower.

On the west side, crews have made it past Cape Horn and are working their way towards Mosquito Lake. They are encountering consistently deep snow and expect to continue to make slow progress until they get past Mosquito Lake and the topography/aspect become more favorable.

On the east side, the crews are about 1/10 of a mile from Kinney Reservoir and are working through deep drifts towards the summit. Once they crest the summit, they will continue on down into Hermit Valley where the topography and aspect are much more favorable and they will really pick-up steam.

While we don't have an estimate when the route will open for the season, if all goes well and we don’t encounter significant road damage or experience equipment issues, late season storms or other issues, the crews are hopeful that they will get the route open prior to Memorial Day weekend.

This is subject to change due to traffic incidents, weather, availability of equipment and/or materials, unexpected road damage and construction related issues.

Here’s some video our Woodford‘s crew member James Adams shot today of the two blowers working on the seasonal opening of Ebbetts Pass.

This video was taken Friday, May 3, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at aprox. 8,000’. Kenny Reservoir is below the mountain visible in the background of the video.

District 10 maintenance continues to clear snow & debris from Ebbetts Pass/SR-4 in Alpine County. Today crews opened the road so travelers can get to Raymond Meadows Creek (on the east side of Ebbetts Pass).

Monitor Pass Opens - Now crews can start clearing on the east side of Ebbetts Pass.

EBBETTS PASS (STATE ROUTE 4) OPEN TO LAKE ALPINE

ALPINE COUNTY – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) removed the snow, cleared the debris and made the necessary repairs to open State Route 4/Ebbetts Pass to the east end of Lake Alpine on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at 7:30 a.m.

The diligent work of Caltrans crews enabled the opening this section of the highway in time for the beginning of trout fishing season, which begins on Saturday, April 27, 2019.

The video shows the progress for the first week of snow removal on SR-4 with 10’-14’ drifts (and snow currently falling!). Crews across the range are finding deeper than usual drifts at lower elevations as the annual clearing proceeds.

Operations will be from 6 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. We ask, for the safety of the crew and the public, that no one enter behind the closure gate until the road is open.

Lake Alpine is in Alpine County, California at an elevation of 7,388 feet. The crew hopes to get to the west side of Lake Alpine before Fishmas, the traditional opening day of trout season the last Saturday in April, even though the lake will likely be frozen over.

Watch the video

We managed to get up there just minutes before Equipment Operator II Eric Thomas made the first pass with the rotary blower and the crew is off and running.

Camp Connell Supervisor Mike Johnson estimates that there is 15' of snow at the west Lake Alpine gate and once they start climbing above the Lake it will get deeper quick.

Operations will be from 6 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. We ask, for the safety of the crew and the public, that no one enter behind the closure gate until the road is open.

Caltrans manages three trans-Sierra passes in the Central Sierra that are closed during winter and generally open in spring: Ebbetts Pass/SR-4 in Alpine County, Sonora Pass/SR-108 (Tuolumne County) and Monitor Pass/SR-89 (Alpine County).

Caltrans’ goal is to have all winter passes open to the public no later than the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Late season storms, snow accumulation and other factors can sometimes hinder this goal.

Opening passes in the spring involves more than just removing snow. Prior to opening the roadway for public use, vegetation is trimmed back, culverts are cleaned out, the pavement is repaired, cracks are sealed and the roadway is re-striped. The foremost guiding principle in these procedures is to maintain public and worker safety.

Watch the video

April 8, Monday - The clearing of Ebbetts Pass started.