Sierra holiday travel picks up this weekend

With the unofficial start of summer, travelers this weekend are going to run a gauntlet of delays as workers clear snow from the passes and fix issues related to spring runoff.

Officials expect Highway 88 to be fully open this weekend, but just barely. Crews reopened both lanes of the highway between Martin’s Meadow to Carson Spur on Thursday night and hoped to have the highway open between Pickett’s Junction and Crystal Springs on Friday night.

On Tuesday morning, Highway 88 near the top of Woodfords Canyon experienced flooding that undermined the westbound lanes.

It has been four years since Ebbetts Pass was still closed for the Memorial Day weekend.

At last report Highway 4 was open to the Wolf Creek gate, according to the California Department of Transportation and that’s not likely to change this weekend.

Work is ongoing on Sonora and Tioga passes, but it could be mid- to late-June before those open.

Highway 395 at High Point curve is still down to one lane due to subsidence in the northbound lanes overlooking Topaz Lake.

The usual parade of recreational vehicles is passing through Carson Valley as the summer travel season officially begins.

Mottsville Lane remains closed for water over the roadway.

The West Fork of the Carson River is expected to finally slow down as cooler temperatures slow snowmelt in the mountains this week. Over on the East Fork, the river is down around the 13-foot action stage this morning and is expected to continue to subside through the weekend.

There’s still plenty of snow to melt off in the mountains, with snow telemetry at Ebbetts Pass at the top of the East Fork indicating nearly 8 feet of snow still on the ground. The telemetry shows an additional 4 inches of snow from Thursday night.