Northern Utah mountain highways to remain closed for several more weeks

Two mountain highways will remain closed through the Memorial Day holiday because of record snow levels. The Utah Department of Transportation says that State Road 39, also known as the Monte Cristo Highway, from milepost 37 at Ant Flats near Huntsville to milepost 56 just west of Woodruff, Rich County will not be opened for the Memorial Day weekend.The Big Mountain Highway, SR-65, from milepost 3 near the Emigration Canyon turn-off to milepost 14 south of the East Canyon Resort will also remain closed through the holiday weekend.”Extremely deep snow and ice have persisted at levels not seen in many years,” said Region One Director Kris Peterson in a UDOT press release. “In some places, drifts across the roads are still 25 to 30 feet deep.”Peterson said some of the deepest snowfalls in decades have left these routes and the surrounding terrain covered with deep snow and packed ice, which is not only very difficult to remove but hard on the equipment used to perform that work.”We empathize with the many Utahns who had hoped to use these routes to reach their favorite Memorial Day weekend recreation spots,” Peterson said.”We’re hoping that, with some cooperation from the weather in the coming weeks, we’ll be able to have these routes open by mid- to late June,” he said.Travelers can watch for alpine route openings by going to the UDOT website, at udot.utah.gov, or the Commuterlink website at www.utahcomuterlink.com. Openings will also be announced via Twitter at @UDOTRegionOne.

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