N. Cascades Highway should open this week

MOUNT RAINIER, Wash. — The Washington Transportation Department says a scenic drive through Mount Rainier National Park reopens today with the noon lifting of the gates to Cayuse Pass on the east side of the mountain. The department says crews are still clearing snow from nearby Chinook Pass, but hope to have it open in time for Memorial Day Weekend. Road crews are closer to reopening the North Cascades Highway. The department says that may happen Thursday or Friday. All three mountain pass highways are closed each winter by snow and avalanche danger.