GLACIER, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A portion of the Mount Baker Highway will be closed next week as crews prepare for it winter.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) says the road will close near the Coal Creek Bridge from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily starting this Monday, Sept. 29, and lasting through Thursday, Oct. 2.

Crews will be clearing catch basins and ditches, removing hazardous trees and making guardrail and shoulder repairs as part of early winter maintenance.

Anyone who wants to travel beyond the closure point during those hours can do so at their own risk.

WSDOT says anyone who does so has to be past Picture Lake before 7:30 a.m. and will not be let back through the closure point until 4 p.m.

The road to Artist Point will begin its annual closure in the late fall or early winter.