Trail Ridge Road Opens After Last Minute Clean Up

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP/CBS4) — Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park is open for the summer.

The road opened Friday after some last minute cleanup of ice that formed overnight. Melting snow is expected to continue freezing once the sun sets so the road could be closed at night through at least Monday.

Trail Ridge is the nation's highest continuously paved road and usually opens in time for Memorial Day weekend after weeks of snow clearing work.

This year, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson says snowplow operators reported drifts from 18 to 22 feet.

RELATED: Bombs, Helicopter Needed To Negate Independence Pass Avalanche Danger

Independence Pass opened Thursday after workers cleared snow that reached up to between 8 and 12 feet deep.

North America's highest paved road opened Friday, just not to the top of Mt. Evans. CBS4 was on hand as crews cleared Mt. Evans Road late last week. In some spots the snow has been over 20 feet deep. It will open at 9 a.m. as far as Summit Lake. Crews hope to have the rest of the 14-mile stretch all the way to the top of Mt. Evans open within the next week.

LINK: cotrip.org

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