Southern Wyoming’s Snowy Range opened to traffic Thursday a few days before its intended opening. The Wyoming Department of Transportation announced that the 12-mile stretch of the scenic byway through Medicine Bow National Forest is cleared of snow and ready for visitors.
“We had a lot of snow over the weekend and high winds this week, but our crews have been plugging away to keep it on track for the opening,” said Andrea Staley with the WYDOT District 1 office. “It’s open for all motorists, but we advise them to be prepared for adverse weather.
WYDOT is still battling snow across the state. It might be sunny and summer-like in the lower elevations, but the mountain passes don’t yield so easily.
WYDOT District 1 opened the Battle Pass Scenic Byway on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Montana Department of Transportation and the National Park Service are working to get the Beartooth Highway open in time for theMemorial Day weekend.
If all goes according to plan, most of Wyoming’s high country passes and highway will be before the end of May, weather permitting.
Blowing Upward And Onward
WYDOT District 1 has been working on clearing the mountain passes of southeast Wyoming since the beginning of May. Staley said there was a lot of snow for the district’s plows and rotary blowers to churnthrough.
“We had a mild winter on the plains this year,” Staley said. “I think people assumed the mountain didn't get as much, but there was several feet of snow up there.”
The stretch of Wyoming Highway 130 between Laramie and Saratoga was covered with more than 15 feet of snow in some places. WYDOT used multiple rotary plows, snowcats and other heavy equipment from Laramie, Saratoga, Casper and Cheyenne to clear the road in time for Memorial Day weekend.
“We had a lot of snow near Libby Flats over the weekend, so we had to get a rotary blower and some snow plows up there to get all the drifts,” Staley said. “The high winds didn’t make it any easier, but we kept plugging away.”
The Snowy Range is one of several mountain passes in Wyoming that undergoes seasonal closures, usually from December to late May. Staley said WYDOT tries to keep the passes in southeast Wyoming open for as long as possible to ensure everyone has a happy hunting season in the fall.
“We like to get through hunting season,” she said. “We know that there's a lot of outdoor recreation that happens up in the mountains in the fall, so we do want to keep the Snowy Range and Battle Pass open as long as possible. If we can make it to the end of November, that's our goal.”
The winter gates of the Snowy Range were open on Thursday after WYDOT District 1 got the 12-mile stretch of Wyoming Highway 130 cleared of snow and ready for summer traffic a day before the intended opening for Memorial Day weekend. (Courtesy Wyoming Department of Transportation) 
The Snowy Range as it appeared earlier this week from one of WYDOT's snowplows. WYDOT summoned rotary plows, snowcats, and other heavy equipment from Laramie, Saratoga, Casper, and Cheyenne to get the Snowy Range open by Thursday morning, and it will be open to all traffic over Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting. (Courtesy Wyoming Department of Transportation) 
A snowplow from the Montana Department of Transportation reaches the "Welcome to Montana" sign on the Beartooth Highway on May 13. The Beartooth Highway is scheduled to be open by noon on Friday. (Courtesy Wyoming Department of Transportation)
Memorial Day Momentum
As of Thursday, only two roads in Wyoming remain closed: U.S. Highway 14A and the Beartooth Highway. Both are scheduled to be open to traffic by Friday.
U.S. 14A, which connects Lovell to Sheridan through the Bighorn Mountains, is scheduled to open for the summer season at noon Friday. WYDOT District 5 has been clearing that section of highway since the beginning of May.
WYDOT District 5 also assists the National Park Service with reopening U.S. Highway 212 (aka Beartooth Highway) by plowing “the plug” that links the highway to Cooke City, Montana. That’s been open to vehicles since May 9.
The National Park Service posted a video Monday showing their progress on the Beartooth Highway. The snow on the Wyoming side of U.S. 212 is being slowly but steadily cleared away.
Meanwhile, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) has cleared the snow between Red Lodge and the Montana/Wyoming state line. It’s spent the last week removing any spring snow and making road repairs.
“After the snow is cleared, our crews need to go back and clear up any concerns about rockslides and fix guard rails,” said MDOT spokesperson Charity Burns. “Every year, we seem to clear the road, and then we have to clear it again.
“But our crews are very experienced and are always prepared to continue clearing as Mother Nature treats us to a Montana winter, spring, winter, and spring again.”
Weather Permitting
Just because Battle Pass and the Snowy Range roads are open doesn’t mean they’re in the clear. The Snowy Range reaches an elevation of 10,800 feet at its tallest point, which is well within the zone for additional snow when another weather system moves in.
Eric Anderson, WYDOT District 1 area maintenance supervisor, warns drivers to still expect to encounter adverse winter weather conditions along the Snowy Range and Battle Pass.
“Spring snowstorms can still happen at higher elevations,” he said. “Conditions may be impassable overnight. Travelers should take their time and be aware that there may still be road hazards.”
Staley said one of WYDOT District 1’s snowplow operators will be stationed on the Snowy Range this weekend if any snow needs to be cleared. She cautioned that Laramie residents shouldn’t judge the mountain’s weather by what’s happening outside their bedroom windows.
“It can be nice and sunny down in Laramie, but when you get up to the Snowy Range and Battle Pass, it's a whole other story,” she said. “Both roads are open for all motorists, but conditions can change quickly, especially in early spring.”
Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
