PORTLAND, Ore. — The Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mount St. Helens will remain closed until 2027 as the timeline to repair a washed-out section of Spirit Lake Highway stretches out. The delay, first reported by The Columbian, pushes back a previously planned 2026 reopening date.
A landslide on May 14, 2023 destroyed the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge and part of the surrounding slope on a section of the highway's final stretch approaching the Johnston Ridge Observatory, cutting off the only road access to the famous visitor center.
The Washington State Department of Transportation installed culverts for the outlet and built a temporary one-lane bypass last summer to recover visitor vehicles that had been stranded in the Johnston Ridge parking lot, but erosion caused the structure to fail after just a few months, and WSDOT announced earlier this year that it would focus on permanent repairs instead of any additional temporary solutions.
The permanent fix will be a new two-lane bridge, according to WSDOT's webpage about the incident, but it will take several years to go through the agency's process of planning, design and construction, and the site's remote location and harsh winter conditions mean that construction work will only be possible for half of each year.
Even after the road is repaired, the U.S. Forest Service will still need to assess the condition of the observatory and perform any necessary repairs before reopening it to the public. The new reopening date of 2027 is a best estimate accounting for both projects, WSDOT said.
Spirit Lake Highway is closed at milepost 45 using the gate that normally closes off the Johnston Ridge segment for the winter, but everything before that point is still open and accessible, including the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center and Coldwater Lake recreation area, the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, the Forest Learning Center and Elk Rock and Castle Lake Viewpoints.
