FR 99 CLOSED to Motorized Traffic ie.... Windy Ridge:

[flixter]

My Money says it will remain CLOSED FOREVER, Just dont see any monetary reason for the Forest Service to
Repair a road for Tourist or us Taxpayers, just not in the cards. So kiss the Windy Ridge Drive Good Bye.
Anyway here is there latest and greatest post from there official website.
Forest Road 99 remains CLOSED to motorized traffic.  Despite the summer season, FR99 to Windy Ridge remains gated
and closed to motorized public traffic due to winter surface damage at a total of 14 sites. Some are individually
hazardous enough to warrant closure and collectively they pose a threat to the nature and volume of traffic typical
for FR99 to the Windy Ridge destination.  Until repairs are completed, the roadway does not meet minimum standards for traffic safety.  
However, the public may hike or ride bicycles on the open lanes until repairs are made.   
Plans are in progress for repairs but no completion date is available at this time. 
For further information, please contact Heath Cameron, District Engineer, at 360-449-7813  or [email protected]. 

[Sore Feet]

There's no way it stays closed forever. There are snow play areas up there, there are numerous trailheads popular for both hikers and horseback riders (off FR26), and it's the second most popular area to view the blast zone after Johnson Ridge. A ton of tourist traffic goes through Randle because of Windy Ridge. If they close it off, the Cowlitz Valley will feel the economic impact. Plus it's used for geologic research access to the crater, the blast plain, and the Smith, Clearwater and Bean Creek basins where reforestation research has taken place (and all of which serve as popular areas for hunting too). They'll close 23 permanently before they close 99 permanently.

[Webfoot]

They'll close 23 permanently before they close 99 permanently.

Let's hope for neither!

[flixter]

To Sore Feet:
Believe Me When I Say I Hope You Be Right, since I enjoy hanging out there during the Summer and Fall months,
But Reality Is A Strong Pill To Swallow Sometimes. Since I Was At Lower Lewis River Park earlier this year (2017) and
had a short chat with the workers, who were working on the Crab Creek washout and were ticked because they were told
to stop becuase there was no money to do the job repair right, a MANAGEMENT DECISION, since Manager's have to consider
there RETIREMENT PLAN verse's staying under Budget, and I don't blame them, Retirement Plan or Tourist, which choice would you make,
MY Money says your choice Will Be kiss Tourism Goodbye, and Less Roads To Manage. Just Good Ole Common Sense,Right....

Below is the post from (07/15/2017) Current Road Conditions on Gifford Pinchot Web Site.
7/08/2017: FS Rd. 90 is open one lane at milepost 11.5 to MP 12 due to mudslide. Rd. 90 to Lower Falls has road damage at Crab Creek,
MP28 but is accessible for cars. Longer trailers/RV's may have difficulty.
Contact Mt. Adams Ranger District for current info. 509-395-3402.

If you will notice the remark at the end of the post about "Longer trailers/RV's may have difficulty" don't think that will affect
the tourist who have planned to spend a few days at the Lower Falls Park with Longer trailers/RV's This Summer.

Since I've been hanging out in the Gifford Pinchot Forest for the past 40 years, I have watched more roads be closed and
access to Waterfall Sites be closed every year. Here is a example that happened on FR90 a couple years back for a clear cut logging
and the all mighty dollar and the mess that was left for animal and human to navigate around. This my Web Link showing how the
short but wonderful hike that Big Creek Falls used to be., http://www.pnwhiker.org/bigfalls/bigfalls.htm.

All I can say is my days are numbered and I just wish that the next generations will be able to tour the Gifford via Auto's and
enjoy the road trips and hikes like I have, Not To Listen To Some Old How It Used To Be, Enough Said Right.......

FYI: Here is the Web Link To Giiford Pinchot Info Site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/giffordpinchot/

[drm]

Over time, it is natural that more roads will close because the funds that paid to build them are not there to maintain them. I expect that if 9075 and 9085 ever suffer severe damage, they will not be fixed. But core roads like 99 will not be closed any time soon short of some seemingly unimaginable economic disaster.

[Sore Feet]

Since I've been hanging out in the Gifford Pinchot Forest for the past 40 years, I have watched more roads be closed and
access to Waterfall Sites be closed every year. Here is a example that happened on FR90 a couple years back for a clear cut logging
and the all mighty dollar and the mess that was left for animal and human to navigate around. This my Web Link showing how the
short but wonderful hike that Big Creek Falls used to be., http://www.pnwhiker.org/bigfalls/bigfalls.htm.

Big Creek Falls didn't close because of clear cutting or logging. It closed because a windstorm blew down a bunch of trees in there, including one which wiped out the viewing platform. The forest service deemed it to be too dangerous to re-open it due to the liability of potential widowmakers left still standing, so they mothballed the trail. Other than the railing on the viewpoint being gone and several large logs laying across the trail, it's still in fine shape.

There's been a long decline in the ability of the forest service to maintain their road network to the standards it was at 40 years ago, primarily because of the decline in logging in the forest. Of course decisions will have to be made about how to triage road repair when the budget is limited and sometimes, as I've experienced over the 25+ years I've been out there, it's just going to take time to get repairs completed for various reasons. There's a (paved) road up my way east of Seattle that leads to a popular part of the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest which was wiped out by flooding in 2006. It still hasn't been repaired due to a number of reasons, some not so good, and some entirely legitimate, but none of them because of some pseudo-malicious intent to close off roads because greed was getting in the way. Construction is however slated to finally start next year. Long overdue, but it will end up happening. It might take a couple of years for 99 to get repaired - just like it sounds like it'll take a couple years to get 23 repaired, but it will happen.

And for the record, the money which is appropriated to the National Forest Service for road maintenance, and the money used for government retirement funds come from entirely separate appropriation processes. They can't just choose to not fix roads and take the money that would be "saved" and dump it into their retirement accounts. It just doesn't work like that.

[K.Wagner]

flixter, thanks for posting this. I like others, don't share your pessimism, it's just too important to abandon.

Delays in reopening it are sure going to change my summer plans though!

[drm]

I have recently heard that 99 is not like 23 in terms of damage. We saw a photo posted here of 23 where a river had completely washed it away. Somebody who saw 99 said that is not the case there and that in fact vehicles can travel on it now. Maybe it is undercut or something like that but the level of work to get it open should be much less than with 23.

[Don Nelsen]

I rode my bike on 99 as far as the ranger hut and view area at about mile 10.5 and there is nothing much wrong with the road that wasn't already wrong with it: The usual cracks and grade slumps is all. Even a clown car would not have a problem. There is only one spot where the cracks have widened much since last year. A little patching, which is what's been done for years, and the road could at least be opened to that point. There are worse spots on the 25 road!!

dn

[K.Wagner]

Don,

Where is the road blocked now? Down at the Wakepish Snow Park, or up at the Bear Meadows view point?