Expanded logging and a planned ski resort on Mount St. Helens hastened the construction of a modern highway linking Spirit Lake to the timberline on the mountain's northern slopes in the 1950s. Despite support from the state government, the Forest Service, and Bureau of Public Roads, the highway project was put on hold for several years due to funding shortfalls. The state legislature approved funds for the extension of SSH 1R into the national forest, which began in late 1959. The SSH 1R designation was extended onto the new timberline highway, which opened to traffic on September 29, 1962.