ARLINGTON – The North Cascades Highway opened April 3, one of the earliest openings in years.

Highway 530 out of Arlington connects with Highway 20 at Rockport, north of Darrington.

Highway 20 closes almost every winter because of snow. But because of a lack of the white stuff this year, it only took state Department of Transportation crews three weeks to clear the highway, among the shortest reopening efforts in the road’s 42-year history.

Crews began the clearing process on State Route 20 on March 16. Last year it took crews nearly six weeks to clear the road. The earliest opening ever was on March 10, 2005, but two weeks later snow closed the highway for another 10 days, reopening again on April 4.

There was one year, 1977, when the highway never closed because of a drought.

“We all live up here and know it’s important for local businesses to have the highway open as soon as it’s safe,” said Don Becker, WSDOT maintenance supervisor.

The mid-morning reopening allowed the crew to sweep the 37-mile closure zone for rocks and debris, clear any snow below avalanche chutes and apply sand or deicer as needed.