Old McKenzie Pass Hwy. to reopen Monday
The Old McKenzie Pass Highway (OR 242) will officially open to all traffic next Monday at 8 a.m., ODOT announced Wednesday. The scenic, winding highway over the Cascades has been closed due to heavy winter snowfall.
Motorists driving on this curvy seasonal road need to be aware of bicyclists and pedestrians on the roadway and take proper precautions, officials said. Vehicles longer than 35 feet are prohibited from using the highway.
The first route over the McKenzie Pass, known as Craig’s McKenzie Salt Springs/Deschutes Wagon Road, was completed in 1872. This toll road connected the Willamette Valley with Camp Polk, near what is now Sisters. The charge was $2 for a wagon drawn by two horses, $2.50 for a wagon with four horses, $1 for a man on a horse and 10 cents each for loose cattle and horses.
The Old McKenzie Pass Highway became a seasonal scenic highway in 1962 with the completion of the Clear Lake-Belknap Springs section of state Highway 126.
Even during its tenure as the main route between the southern Willamette Valley and Central Oregon, the narrow, twisting roadway and high elevation (5,325 feet) made the highway too difficult to maintain and keep clear during the winter months.
