A major transstate route through central Idaho reopened two days after roads were closed due to avalanche threats from the rugged hillside west of Lolo Pass.
The day after Christmas, the Idaho Department of Transportation closed U.S. 12, a few miles east of Couschia and a few miles west of the Idaho-Montana border, as avalanche danger reached a “very high” level. .
That section of the highway cuts through a narrow, steep canyon along the Loxa River, with hundreds of feet of mountains towering directly above the road. With no formal avalanche controls along the route, the IDT has been known to close the road to all traffic as a precautionary measure.
A landslide in the same area in January washed snow and other debris onto the road, closing US 12 for four days while crews cleared the slide.
This time there were road closures at the Fish Creek Gate at Milepost 126 and Saddle Camp Road at the eastern end at Milepost 139.
At noon Wednesday, the IDT announced that the restrictions would be lifted as conditions have changed after the mild temperatures and rain have passed. However, the agency still warned that driving on the road would be difficult west of Lolo Pass.
Further south, a highway connecting Stanley, Idaho, and Boise remains closed due to the danger of landslides.
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