Business owners say Zion project too costly

[Iceaxe]

Business owners say Zion project too costly
[B]Zion National Park

[Scott P]

[QUOTE]
Zion National Park

[tanya]

I am not sure that informing the east side would help all that much - what can you do? close shop for a year and still survive? Imagine if you had to go without enough income to operate your business for a year. The shuttles in Springdale devastated the East side, and the few business's that did survive may not survive this year. It's not just a month or so of income loss, its the ENTIRE season - which is a whole years income - normally we have to borrow or save all summer to make it through the winters. This road closure is enough to loose everything these people worked for all their lives.

[Scott P]

It's not just a month or so of income loss, its the ENTIRE season - which is a whole years income - normally we have to borrow or save all summer to make it through the winters. This road closure is enough to loose everything these people worked for all their lives.

I admit I'm not familiar with this particular project, but was speaking about projects I have been on in tourist towns (which has been several-Aspen, Telluride, Winter Park, Granby, Aspen, Jackson Hole, etc.). Is the road actually closed or are there just delays?

I wonder if one possible solution might be to use a shuttle service on the East Entrance Road too? Less congestion would mean shorter delays.

Whatever the solution is, it would be a tough one. As mentioned winter road construction is not really practical (except for places with really warm climates-such as St. George possibly, but not at the elevation that this road is at). Dirt and concrete work is sometimes possible (with good conditions), but things like asphalt paving are not.

Night work is extremely difficult at best on a steep windy road. On a steepy windy road, safety would decrease and lighting would be difficult at best. Night work usually takes longer as well and is always more expensive (especially on a road such as this), which brings up another problem. If the project was bid for day work (assuming it was?), switching to nightwork (even if it were practical) could bankrupt the project. Most construction contractors (at least the ones around here-I don't know about Utah) are barley hanging on as it is and are bidding projects without any profits at all just to stay afloat. Bidding projects to break even or even at loss is still better than not working at all. The project I am on now for example is employed mostly by foreman and supervisors doing the grunt work because most of the lower ranking employees have already been laid off. One botched project can bankrupt a company in these hard times. In fact the subcontractor we worked with last fall already went bankrupt and someone else finished the work.

Another problem that often creeps up with night work is that most contractors don't own their own gravel pits in every corner of the state. They buy their material from someone else, whom may or not be able to work at night. Especially in tourist towns (I don't know about the ones around Zion) and sometimes even entire counties, there are noise ordinances and they aren't allowed to do things like run gravel pits, concrete batch plants and asphalt plants at night. I guess this particular project may be far enough away from a town that the gravel pits, concrete and asphalt plants might be far enough away to be excluded from noise ordinances, but we run into these things all the time in tourist towns.

The solutions are difficult. It would be nice if someone could come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone, but unfortunately this never happens. It would be nice if someone could come up with a viable solution. Personally, I'm sympathetic to both sides and see both sides of the issue.

It would be nice, if the areas east of Zion could still have the same amount of tourist traffic, but diverting those worried about getting to Zion to the Grand Staircase NM, but that's easier said than done.

I feel for the business owners in tourist towns and know where they're coming from. I can see where the consturction companies are coming from as well, in some of their concerns. Let's all hope that the economy improves and that the tourism industry has a good comeback.

[tanya]

Post Meeting Update from Zion

Zion - Mt. Carmel Road Project Update

On Friday, June 18, park staff met with Federal Highways and the contractor to discuss the concerns and impacts brought forward in the Thursday night meeting. The question of night versus daytime closures was discussed in relation to the contract, project productivity, visitor and worker safety, and impacts on the public. In the end, the determination was made that the schedule could be changed to a primarily night operation, with some delays due to traffic control in work areas during the daytime hours.
The new hours of closures will be 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Fridays, Saturdays and Holidays will remain open 24 hours. We are still workaing with Federal Highways and the contractor to determine when the new schedule can be instituted, but it will be as soon as possible. When the date is determined, it will be sent to you.
A news release with more details will be issued to the news media as soon as we have all the specifics. You can access the park website at www.nps.gov/zion and find all news releases. You also have the option of signing up for an RSS newsfeed on the website so you will automatically receive news releases.
We are very concerned that yet another change in the project schedule will confuse the public even more. We will ensure that the new information is provided to the public through a variety of means, including revised information sheets for businesses to post for the public. We ask for your help in ensuring that the revised road project information is provided to the public.
Thank you,
Erik De Groat
Public Information Officer
Zion National Park, UT 84767

435-772-0180

[Scott Card]

[QUOTE=Iceaxe;405869]Business owners say Zion project too costly
[B]Zion National Park

[tanya]

My kids were competing in the Utah Summer Games and I did not get to the meeting, but I was told many of the people there clapped when the environmental protection specialist reported no work could be done at night because the owl. It was a good result, but some rumors say it will not take place until the work is done on the switchbacks. Others say it begins Wednesday. I will wait for the update. Dixie Brunner of the local paper here, the SUN, was the key player in getting the changes done for the East side. Kudos to Dixie! I thought it was a lost cause!

[tanya]

This is from the Maynard Dixon Foundation who also worked hard for this change.

To All:

We are very happy to hear of this decision. We all need to use every method possible to communicate this news to all of our customers. Possibly we can recoup and reconstruct our summer if we use every new media source possible.
If you can advise folks in your world to subscribe to our opt-in email program we will make every effort in our email blasts to cover this story.

Also if you haven't done it yet, be certain to give a note of thanks to Dixie Brunner who took the lead in bringing this to the attention of numerous folks.

Thanks,

Paul Bingham

Maynard Dixon Property
P.O. Box 5555
Mount Carmel, Utah 84755
www.thunderbirdfoundation.com

[tanya]

Zion Announces New Road Reconstruction Schedule



Superintendent Jock Whitworth has announced a new work schedule for the reconstruction of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway within Zion National Park. The new schedule will only have nighttime road closures. These will occur from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. Previous schedules have all included daytime closures. Weekends and holidays will remain open 24 hours a day. Although the new schedule creates some additional challenges for the project, it should mitigate frustration for travelers, help park operations, and ease economic impacts to the surrounding communities.

Superintendent Whitworth stated, “We have been working with the Federal Highways Administration, area businesses, and the contractor to set a schedule to reconstruct the 80 year old Zion Mount Carmel Highway section from the switchbacks to our east entrance.

We feel that the new schedule should still allow us to complete the project before winter, allow visitors to travel to and through Zion, and allow local businesses to fair well during the reconstruction process.”

Zion National Park will remain open for the duration of the project. People traveling to Zion National Park on State Route 9 from Interstate 15 can enjoy Zion Canyon’s recreational opportunities, access the park shuttle, campgrounds, Zion Lodge, and visit Springdale without being in the construction area. Those traveling between US Highway 89 and Zion Canyon through the park’s East Entrance will be affected by the following schedule.

Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway RECONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE:

June 27-October 28, 2010
Sunday – Thursday; NIGHT CLOSURES 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Open 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Traffic control with up to 30 minute delays. Parking and hiking allowed 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. All hikers and vehicles must be moving out of the area by 8:00 p.m. Bicycles and pedestrians are prohibited in the roadway.
Friday, Saturday and Holidays; NO CLOSURES, ROAD OPEN
Open 24 hours
(On Monday holidays, there will
be no closures on Sunday night.)
Traffic control with up to 30 minute delays. Parking and hiking allowed all hours. Bicycles and pedestrians are prohibited in the roadway.


The road is graded gravel in the work sections and the surface can be uneven. Please use caution and low speeds in these areas. When closures are not in effect, there will still be areas of roadway that are one lane with traffic control and up to 30 minute delays. Due to safety concerns, bicycles are not allowed on the roadway for the duration of the project. Bicyclists wishing to travel between the Canyon Junction and the East Entrance need to arrange for a private vehicle to take them between those locations.

Alternate routes of travel between Zion Canyon and U.S Highway 89 are Utah State Route 59 from Hurricane, Utah to Arizona State Route 389 (better for large vehicles) or Utah State Route 14 from Cedar City, Utah to Long Valley Junction (high elevation/steep grades). In most cases, it should still be faster to use the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway.

For those using alternate routes during the daytime, driving via Utah State Route 59 and Arizona State Route 389 takes travelers directly past Pipe Spring National Monument, another unit of the National Park System worth visiting. Utah State Route 14 allows for travelers to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument via a short side trip on Utah State Route 148.

The Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway reconstruction started June 1, 2010, and is expected to end by October 28. The road construction is occurring from the junction of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive to the East Entrance, a distance of 9.5 miles. The construction does not include Zion Canyon, the most visited area of the park.

For updated information, Call 435-772-3256 (press 1, then 4) or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/zion. To automatically receive news releases, sign up for the RSS newsfeed on the website.

[accadacca]

Great news!

[Scott Card]

So I guess from about 9:00 pm until 6:00 a.m. each night the workers will be piping Yanni into the canyons for the owls to enjoy and to calm their shatters nerves?

Guess it wasn't that big of a deal after all. And by the way, are Zion Canyons the only canyons in the world where these owls nest? Don't get me wrong, I am all for fuzzy critters but seriously, it seems like they are used as excuses to shut down and regulate quit a bit.

[canyoncaver]

And by the way, are Zion Canyons the only canyons in the world where these owls nest? Don't get me wrong, I am all for fuzzy critters but seriously, it seems like they are used as excuses to shut down and regulate quit a bit.

That's because they are a federally listed threatened species. The laws on that don't provide for a whole lot of leeway. I would prefer that the parks give threatened animals precedent over highway projects, but hey, that's just me.

[remoteman45]

So why aren't Pine and Spry showing up in the backcountry reservation system?

[canyoncaver]

So why aren't Pine and Spry showing up in the backcountry reservation system?

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I believe they are walk-in only until the foolishness is over with.