Sonora, CA — In anticipation of a winter storm, rain and snow blowing through the Sierra Nevada, closure gates at all three passes will temporarily swing shut.
Caltrans officials confirm the agency has scheduled temporary road closures for Highway 4 Ebbetts Pass and Highway 108 Sonora Pass at 6 p.m. on Tuesday ahead of the forecasted storm, which could bring four to eight inches of snow to those areas. They stress that with safety being a priority the closures are done in the event that the weather would hamper driving conditions.
Plans are to close Highway 4 at the Number 2 snow gate east of Lake Alpine and Highway 108 at Kennedy Meadows.
Officials add that Highway 120 Tioga Pass, maintained by Yosemite National Park, is scheduled to close Tuesday at 3 p.m.
While these closures are not expected to be the seasonal shutdowns for the passes, the reopening times since they depend on conditions and post weather-event repairs and inspections, are at this point uncertain.
For Caltrans traffic information for Highway’s 4, 49, 59, 108, and 120 plus a view of traffic on other Mother Lode roads and gas prices click on “Traffic” or keyword: traffic For an overview of extreme weather news stories go here.