A snowplow clears Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park last week. National Park Service photo
After the longest closure in the past 20 years, Highway 120 opened on Thursday to the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park.
According to the California Department of Transportation, the road has been closed for 239 days since Nov. 17, 2022.
“Following an extended snow removal operation that lasted well into June, maintenance crews completed the necessary rock work and guardrail repairs to reopen the highway,” officials said.
However, Tioga Road, which enters Yosemite remains closed with no estimated opening date.
“One lane is plowed the length of Tioga Road to Tioga Pass,” according to the Park Service. “Crews continue to clear snow from the roadway and shoulders. In addition, crews are conducting minor repairs, mitigating hazard trees, and performing other tasks necessary to prepare the Tioga Road for public access.”
Thanks to warming temperatures, the avalanche hazard at Olmsted Point is declining and melting the heavy snow and ice.
“We are working to repair road damage at Olmsted Point, 10 miles west of Olmsted Point, and near Tamarack Flat Campground,” park officials said.
Park crews continue to make extensive repairs to employee housing, work areas, and visitor facilities. In order to protect public health, water quality, and other park resources, sanitation facilities must be available before the Tioga Road can open to the public.
The park is contracting for pumping of vault toilets along the Tioga Road corridor and for potable toilets in employee housing and work areas.
In some years, Tioga Road opens to cyclists for a day or a few days
For more information on the status of Tioga Pass and Tioga Road through the park, visit www.nps.gov/yose.
