U.S. 12 reopened between Lowell and Lolo Pass

U.S. 12 in Idaho reopened to traffic Friday evening after a 15-day closure caused by a series of avalanches between Lowell and Lolo Pass.

The road – the main route between Lewiston and Missoula – opened at about 8:15 p.m., the Idaho Transportation Department said in a news release.

Crews finished removing debris Friday morning from the last of two avalanches discovered earlier in the week near milepost 132.

The highway closed Jan. 31 when an avalanche buried the road and temporarily stranded a dozen trucks. Sometime that evening or early Feb. 1, three more avalanches buried portions of the highway.

Although traffic is restored, drivers can expect delays today near milepost 134, about 35 miles east of Lowell and 40 miles west of Lolo Pass, as crews remove a trailer from the Lochsa River. One of the first avalanches pushed a truck and its load of lumber into the river. The driver escaped injury.

The tractor and the contents of the trailer were removed earlier, but the trailer remained on its side in the river. The area was restricted because of the potential for more avalanches.

Flaggers and a pilot car will direct traffic through the area beginning about 8 a.m. Removal of the trailer is expected to take most of the day.