Road repairs to restore access to Mount St. Helens observatory

For three years, a key connection for visitors to Mount St. Helens has been closed due to a landslide.

That is expected to soon change.

Starting Wednesday, crews will start work to permanently replace Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge on State Route 504, restoring access to the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

On the evening of May 14, 2023, over 300,000 cubic yards of debris from the volcano’s 1980 eruption slid roughly 2,000 feet down a hillside above State Route 504, burying the highway and destroying the 85-foot bridge. Some visitors were stranded and had to be rescued via helicopter. No one died.

The slide east of Castle Rock and Toutle followed a warming trend that had enabled significant snowmelt to saturate the ground.

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Crews cleared the debris to build a temporary bypass two months later so cars stranded at the observatory could be recovered. But winter weather caused the stopgap road to fail after four months.

Washington State Department of Transportation contractor crews will build a new two-lane road and bridge, designed with the challenging terrain in mind. The new Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge will be similar in width to the destroyed span, but longer.

The work, which will allow visitors to travel the full length of State Route 504, is expected to be done in the fall. The U.S. Forest Service will then begin work to reopen the observatory to the public.

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The Forest Service has reported the observatory will remain closed until 2027. The slide didn’t impact the agency’s other facilities at the national volcanic monument. Trails, visitor centers, and other viewpoints remain open.

The state Department of Transportation didn’t share a cost estimate for the road work.

The observatory, first opened in 1997, offers breathtaking views of the volcano, as well as displays telling its story. During the closure, hikers have still been able to trek to the closed observatory.

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Cowlitz County Commissioner Richard Dahl said the county is excited to see the project get underway.

“It will boost visitations to this spectacular and historic area,” Dahl said in an email Monday.

The county has been looking to diversify its tourism promotion beyond Mount St. Helens amid the observatory’s closure, which has dampened the local tourism economy.

Alyssa Hoyt, co-executive director of the Mount St. Helens Institute, said the closure has left some visitors thinking the entire recreation area is inaccessible, even though most services and trails remain open.

“We hope that news of the bridge work will encourage people to come visit the volcano,” Hoyt said.

This story was originally published by the Washington State Standard.