Zion NP Road Work Aug 22 - ??? East Side Road Rte 9

[ratagonia]

Zion National Park News Release
For Immediate Release
Marc Neidig 435-772-0164
August 19, 2011

Zion National Park Announces Road Work on the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway

On August 22, the National Park Service will begin resurfacing a portion of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway in Zion National Park. Work will occur on the 9.5-mile section of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway that extends from the junction with the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive to the East Entrance of the park. The resurfacing project is expected to take up to two weeks to complete, weather dependent. Travel will be reduced to a single lane of traffic in some areas and motorists may experience delays of up to 15 to 30 minutes.

People visiting Zion Canyon from the South Entrance of the park who are camping, accessing the shuttle system, or staying at the Zion Lodge or in the town of Springdale will not be in the construction zone. Visitors traveling through Zion National Park from the South Entrance to the East Entrance, or vice versa, should expect delays. The Zion Canyon Scenic Drive will not be affected by this project.

In 2010, large sections of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway were rebuilt and repaved with black asphalt. This portion of road will be chip sealed, which involves covering the road surface with a combination of oil and red volcanic cinders. The cinders used during the chip sealing process give the roads within the park their distinctive red color. The layer of cinders must remain on the road for two to three weeks before any excess material can be cleared.

During this time, motorists and bicyclists should be aware of the hazards associated with a layer of loose rock chips on the road. Speeds should be reduced to help prevent injuries and vehicle damage resulting from flying debris. Resurfacing the road will extend the life of the pavement and improve vehicle traction.

[tanya]

I am so glad they filled the pot holes over the dunes way! Now they need to blade the 5 mile dirt section that got so washboarded with all the rain. I only go through Zion before 8am and after 8pm this time of year. That dirt road does a job on my cars though!

[ratagonia]

I am so glad they filled the pot holes over the dunes way! Now they need to blade the 5 mile dirt section that got so washboarded with all the rain. I only go through Zion before 8am and after 8pm this time of year. That dirt road does a job on my cars though!

????

Dirt road? Dunes???

T

[tanya]

It's only a short cut if you are going to Hurricaine or St. George. You are probably head to Springdale all the time. There is the Smithsonial Butte Backway but that would take too long. It does take you in a loop back near Rockville though.

If you were guiding hikes in Water Canyon that would be way faster for you to go that way.

Just turn off to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes, 3 miles from Mt. Carmel Jct. Follow the road. The Utah road is all paved. 5 miles of the Arizona road is dirt. The road meets up with 389 near Hildale and Colorado City.

Map
http://www.zionnational-park.com/southern-utah-map.htm

[Felicia]

I was at the Backcountry Desk this afternoon and posted on the board was: Spry, Pine Creek, Lodge and Keyhole are closed 8/22, 8/23, 8/24, and 8/25 because of the construction.

Edit:

The exact posting was:

Closed
Spry, Pine Creek, Lodge
8/22, 8/23, 8/24
Keyhole 8/25

....so I'm not sure if all the canyons are closed all days or canyons closed on those days. I did not clarify.

[canyonguru]

I am coming up Friday to do Keyhole and Pinecreek on Sat. I sure hope there are no issues. If they were to close would they email or call all of those people who have permits for those days and tell them that they are closed ?

[ratagonia]

I am coming up Friday to do Keyhole and Pinecreek on Sat. I sure hope there are no issues. If they were to close would they email or call all of those people who have permits for those days and tell them that they are closed ?

Ha ha ha ha ha...

You crack me up!

Call the Backcountry Desk and ask.

Tom

[MrAdam]

There was a large pile of gravel staged at the lower parking spot for Pine Creek all weekend with no parking signs around it. I assume it is for the road work taking place this week.

[Krrristi]

There was a large pile of gravel staged at the lower parking spot for Pine Creek all weekend with no parking signs around it. I assume it is for the road work taking place this week.

BUT we were parked there all day with no problems, and Bo asked someone important if it was OK and they said as long as we were gone by the end of the day it was fine.

[ratagonia]

BUT we were parked there all day with no problems, and Bo asked someone important if it was OK and they said as long as we were gone by the end of the day it was fine.

You mean, you parked at the pile of gravel, the day before the area was closed, and it was not a problem? Go figure!

I would guess that Bo asked one of the Park Employees, who is neither more or less important than anyone else, unless perhaps Jock was there to personally keep eye over his pile of gravel...

Tom

[Krrristi]

You mean, you parked at the pile of gravel, the day before the area was closed, and it was not a problem? Go figure!

I would guess that Bo asked one of the Park Employees, who is neither more or less important than anyone else, unless perhaps Jock was there to personally keep eye over his pile of gravel...

Tom

Well, no. What I meant was that I parked at the pile of gravel the day before road work for the entire area was to start, and the person-of-no-importance who has something to do with the road work told Bo that as long as the cars were out of the way when road work of that particular section began, it was not a problem. Somebody with deductive reasoning skills and a healthy appetite for risk-taking could take my comment to mean that, as long as road resurfacing for the day is taking place on a different section of the road and there are no plans for crews to mess around with the pile of gravel in question for this specific day, one can use the parking area. Other people could take my comment as simply an anecdotal reference to my own personal experience with this pile of gravel.

[ratagonia]

Well, no. What I meant was that I parked at the pile of gravel the day before road work for the entire area was to start, and the person-of-no-importance who has something to do with the road work told Bo that as long as the cars were out of the way when road work of that particular section began, it was not a problem. Somebody with deductive reasoning skills and a healthy appetite for risk-taking could take my comment to mean that, as long as road resurfacing for the day is taking place on a different section of the road and there are no plans for crews to mess around with the pile of gravel in question for this specific day, one can use the parking area. Other people could take my comment as simply an anecdotal reference to my own personal experience with this pile of gravel.

Whether the parking is closed, or not, the CANYONS are closed for a few days. Unfortunate.

Tom

[canyonguru]

The problem is the Back country office never answers the dang phone when i call.

[Iceaxe]

I am coming up Friday to do Keyhole and Pinecreek on Sat. I sure hope there are no issues. If they were to close would they email or call all of those people who have permits for those days and tell them that they are closed ?

If they did that they wouldn't have any rangers left to hassle you at the Subway Trailhead.

[ratagonia]

The problem is the Back country office never answers the dang phone when i call.

Do you leave a message? I have had good luck with them calling me back, in the past.

Tom

[flatiron]

I called and left message at desk a few weeks ago cause I needed to add 1 person to my reservations for a whole week of canyons and did not want to pay for separate addition. The website does not allow additions. A Ranger called me back about 24 hrs later and I fortunately saw who it was and was able to pick up. Not sure what message he would have left me besides call back if I had not. Anyway, he helped me add to every canyon (they were avail) at no charge. Took us about 10 minutes and he was great. Try it and good luck.

[canyonguru]

I do leave messages but that usually takes multiple days to get back. Last time i called they never called back. you would think with how busy the summer is and how much money they are raking in at 25 bucks a pop per car that they could staff one full time office person for the phones. Oh well.

[m cabourne]

I do leave messages but that usually takes multiple days to get back. Last time i called they never called back. you would think with how busy the summer is and how much money they are raking in at 25 bucks a pop per car that they could staff one full time office person for the phones. Oh well.

Just curious...does anyone know (percentage-wise) how much of the Park fees and fines stay within the Park? I'm guessing some (or most) must go into a general fund to support some of the less visited National Parks.

[canyonguru]

Good point.

[ratagonia]

Just curious...does anyone know (percentage-wise) how much of the Park fees and fines stay within the Park? I'm guessing some (or most) must go into a general fund to support some of the less visited National Parks.

It is not like it is a business; more like slight of hand. They have a spending budget they work under. They have receipts from the gate. In some cases they can gain revenue and then add it to their spending budget (like backcountry permit fees).

But it is really slight of hand. If they brought in an extra million bucks, that just means next year their budget from the general fund would be cut by a million bucks, since they expect to receive it in the front gate.

Not sure what your question is relevant to. Yes, if it was a business, it would be crazy not to have someone available to answer the phone. It is not a business.

Here's the NPS Budget page - good luck making sense of it!!!

http://www.nps.gov/applications/budget2/

Tom