Stretch of Highway 168 in Fresno County foothills to remain closed. When will it re-open?
Stretches of Highway 168 in the Fresno County foothills will not reopen this weekend due to another storm forecast to hit the area.
The California Highway Patrol said in an update Friday evening that Highway 168 around the four-lane stretch will “remain closed this weekend as we continue to assess our recovery efforts and ensure the roads are safe to travel after the next storm.”
The CHP said the roads on Highway 168 above Shaver Lake remain narrow because of snow, but “progress is being made.”
Caltrans continues clearing Highway 168, but the work is slow because there’s nowhere practical to dump the snow as it’s pushed off the roadway. A contractor is hauling dump truck loads of snow to drop in the Valley.
The National Weather Service in Hanford issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite National Park to Sequoia National Park from Saturday afternoon through Sunday night.
CHP spokesman Mike Salas said “as of today, there is no offstreet parking and 99% of all businesses are closed. No snow park or snow play areas are accessible.”
He added that the highway above Shaver Dam is reduced to one lane with walls of snow on either side.
It’s unknown when Highway 168 will completely reopen, dependent on how much snow falls this weekend.
The highway has been closed since Feb. 24.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 7:49 PM.
