Monitor Pass now open; Caltrans working to open all other mountain passes by Memorial Day

Caltrans crews are working on all Sierra mountain passes in order to have them all open by Memorial Day. District 10 has been clearing snow and debris from mountain passes for several generations, tackling the task each spring on Ebbetts Pass/State Route 4, Monitor Pass/SR-89 and Sonora Pass/SR-108.

Removing snow and ice, pushing aside fallen trees and dead branches, dislodging boulders and mounds of rocks … those are just some of the challenges awaiting crews as they head up the highway to higher altitude.

On Friday, they announced the opening of SR89 over Monitor Pass. This will allow motorists to use Monitor Pass/SR-89 to journey between SR-88 to the north and U.S. Highway 395 to the south.

They also moved up the closure on Ebbetts Pass/SR-4 from the west end of Lake Alpine to the east end of the lake. The east side of the pass is still closed the entire stretch.

The closure on Sonora Pass/SR-108 moved from the Sno-Park to Eagle Meadows. Motorists should be aware that there is extremely limited parking and few opportunities to turn around on this section of SR-108.

Caltrans sometimes will close the road when late-season storms affect the region.
Visit http://www.quickmap.dot.ca.gov for the latest road conditions or call the Road Condition Hotline at (800) 427-ROAD (7623).