Western Railroad Discussion > Mullan Pass, MT primitive road

This is mostly for fans headed west this fall for the NPRHA convention in Wallace, ID.

I drove east over this road from Blossburg, MT. this morning. While I cannot say it is impassable to the family 4 door sedan I would not recommend such passage. Even in my midsized SUV there were spots to be made at crawling speed.

While getting the sedan over it is possible if you are the typed of guy who washes the car each weekend in the driveway or is traveling with the wife, turn around at Skyline trestle or the top of the divide and go back to US 12.

It is obvious neither the county or state has run a blade or plow over the top in 4-5 years and no attempt has been made to fill washouts.

Posted from iPhone

fbe Wrote:
> It is obvious neither the county or state has run
> a blade or plow over the top in 4-5 years and no
> attempt has been made to fill washouts.>>

More likely feds, as in US Forest Service. Those poor gals and fellers keep having to take money out of other budgets to fight fires every year.
Dave in Msla



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/16 13:34 by monaddave.

Since there are no school bus pickups between these mentioned points and drifting at the top insures winter closures there seems no pressure to insure passability. There is no logging traffic off the east side so there is no pressure to smooth things out for these customers.

Posted from iPhone

That last mile or so through the trees on the east side between Skyline/Austin Creek trestle and the annual winter drift just east and below the crest has been rather rough and rocky for several years now. There are several spots where old 6-8" drainage pipes have filled with sediment and become exposed across the dirt road. The drive into Blossburg from the west (Ellison) has always been alright though. Even above Blossburg to the crest (through open range) was fair as recent as last October. Any noticeable changes to this upper west side stretch?

Mr. MRL

The west side is good road right up to the snowdrift location.

The east side is good up to the first curve beyond the Skyline trestle. Well there is a short exception on the uphill side of the upper Austin road crossing. About half the width of the road is under water. Local beavers have taken it upon themselves to block an MRL drainage culvert.

Posted from iPhone

The road from the county line (Continental Divide) eastward is the responsibility of Lewis & Clark County. Since it's the current route of the Mullan Road, technically a federal highway I suppose, one *might* get influence through the MDT (Montana Department of Transportation), but funding for roads in Lewis & Clark County is pretty thin. Keep in mind that the county extends north beyond Augusta. The county line on the north is the Teton River and half of Gibson Dam is in Lewis & Clark County. That's a lot of roads.
steeplecab
Helena