GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL TO REHABILITATE HERMIT ROAD

Grand Canyon, AZ -Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Joseph F. Alston today announced the continuation of a public involvement effort initiated in June 2004 for the rehabilitation of Hermit Road. Hermit Road is an approximately seven-mile long, two-lane paved road that connects Grand Canyon Village to Hermits Rest along the west rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The National Park Service (NPS) initiated the public process for this project in June 2004 with a request for comments on several preliminary alternatives under consideration for rehabilitation of the road. Based on the input received from the public, other agencies and groups, and from NPS staff, the park has refined the objectives for this project and developed a more detailed project proposal that addresses the purpose and need for the project and the objectives for taking action.

Hermit Road and its associated overlooks and parking areas are historic, designed and constructed in 1934/35 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and Bureau of Public Roads and still retains a high degree of integrity. However, the overall road condition is poor and does not meet current safety standards. It is too narrow for safe passage of buses, especially when bicyclists and pedestrians are on the road.

The NPS proposes to widen Hermit Road up to 24 feet to provide two 11-foot-wide vehicle lanes and two, six-inch to one-foot shoulders on each side of the road. Road width would be increased by three to six feet and would continue to provide two-way bus traffic, with no changes in current bus operations. The proposal would create a two-way bicycle/pedestrian trail, called a Greenway, between Grand Canyon Village and Hermits Rest. In some places the Greenway would be on the south side of the existing road and in other areas it would be on the north side. The Greenway distance from the roadway would depend on existing landscape features and slope. The trail would be paved and would be approximately eight to ten feet wide. Improvements are also being considered for the existing unpaved rim trail and overlook parking areas.

Copies of the scoping letter, detailing the project proposal, can be obtained by writing to the Superintendent, Grand Canyon National Park, P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, Arizona 86023, Attn: Sara White, Environmental Compliance Officer, or on-line at www.nps.gov/grca/compliance/hermit-road.htm. Comments will be accepted for 30 days and should be sent to Sara White at the above address by August 19, 2005. For questions or additional information, please contact Debbie Lutch, project compliance lead, at 928-774-0095.