A major section of SR 504 was destroyed in the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens and its subsequent lahar on the North Fork Toutle River. The state government rebuilt most of the highway from 1988 to 1997, relocating it further north and connecting to new interpretive centers at Coldwater Ridge and Johnston Ridge. A part of the old alignment near the Toutle River Sediment Dam is signed as a spur route. Continued volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens, particularly in the mid-2000s, has resulted in closures and evacuations along the highway at various times.