Road connecting Mount St. Helens with Mt. Rainier being considered

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Lewis County commissioners are looking at the first draft of a plan to build a road connection between state Route 504 and U.S. Highway 12 — enabling much faster travel between Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens.

“It’s been an idea that’s been floated around,” said commissioner Edna Fund. “It’s in the concept stage.”

Currently, the drive between Randle and the edge of Coldwater Lake near Mount St. Helens takes nearly two hours and 91 miles — even though it’s only 22 miles between them as the crow flies.

 For tourists visiting from along the I-5 corridor, visiting one of the volcanoes requires many miles of backtracking before continuing on to the other. By making a more seamless route between them, proponents are hopeful the infrastructure will bolster visitation at both sites.

“You could come up on the Rainier side and visit Rainier, then get on Highway 12 (and connect to St. Helens), and then you’d be able to make a loop,” said county commissioner Gary Stamper. “It would bring in a tremendous amount of tourism dollars in our area. 

Last week, Lewis County commissioners received a letter from Cowlitz County commissioner Dennis Weber asking for their support in requesting that the state legislature conduct a feasibility study on the potential road. Weber attached a map, which shows the proposed road following the edge of Coldwater Lake, before veering northwest into the mountains. After crossing the Green River, it would head north toward Winters Mountain on the south shore of Riffe Lake. That’s where the map cuts off, leaving it unclear if the road would connect with U.S. 12 on the east or west side of the lake. Attempts to reach Weber were unsuccessful as of press time.

The idea was floated in late Oct. at the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Summit attended by commissioners and representatives for several federal officials. 

Fund singled out Sen. Maria Cantwell, who she said had praised the proposal during a meeting in Washington, D.C. not long ago.

“Sen. Cantwell said she’s driven it herself and was just amazed at how long it takes,” Fund said.

Angeline Riesterer, spokeswoman for Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, called the plan a “general concept.”



“Jaime absolutely values increased access to our public areas, though she’ll need local residents and stakeholders to come to a consensus on details like the proposed route before she can give her formal support,” she wrote in a statement.

Sen. Patty Murray, meanwhile said she “look(ed) forward to learning about the proposal.”

Roadblocks 

Despite optimism at the county level, the plan faces significant hurdles. Road-building is expensive work, and Fund noted that the state has many projects in line for such funding. State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, noted that putting in a road so close to the national forest — and on land that’s currently forested — would be sure to stir up environmental concern.

“There’s going to be controversy involved,” he said. “Getting the funding for it is going to be very difficult. There’s going to be some people who are concerned about building a new road anywhere near Mount St. Helens. … One of the things we’d really have to see is what’s the route they’d have to take and how many miles of road are they looking at putting in. What’s the cost going to be?”

Orcutt said his focus is on working with the Forest Service to get snow cleared off Forest Road 25 earlier in the spring, allowing easier access to State Route 503 for travelers on the east side of St. Helens.

State Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said he hadn’t seen enough of a proposal to offer an opinion.

While the idea is still in its early stages, Stamper said he sees great value in exploring it further. St. Helens, he noted, sees attendance numbers far less than Rainier, but allowing families to “make a day of it” and see both could prove beneficial.