Date: March 31, 2017
Contact: John Lewis, 435-719-2150
An extensive road construction project in Arches National Park is well underway with crews currently working on the park entrance road. Work along the entrance road includes improving drainage near the entrance station and constructing a new entry lane and roundabout.
Park visitors should expect long lines and significant delays to enter the park during this phase of the project, especially during the upcoming Easter Jeep Safari Week, April 8th through the 16th.
The Interagency Annual Pass and Senior Pass (for all federal fee areas) are available for purchase on-line at: https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html. In addition, the park entrance pass (valid for 7 consecutive days) can also be purchased on-line at: https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/79771817.
Visitors who have their pre-purchased pass and photo identification ready to present to rangers at the entrance booth may help reduce the amount of time it takes to enter the park.
The Devils Garden area of the park, including access to all area hiking trails, is tentatively scheduled to be closed from April 24th through May 26th.
Devils Garden Campground is closed through November 30, 2017.
The Fiery Furnace area and hiking route and Salt Valley Overlook are tentatively scheduled to be closed May 30th through June 23rd.
Other areas of Arches National Park, such as The Windows Section, may be closed for up to four weeks. The park will reopen roads and trails once area construction work is completed. Given the many variables that can impact road projects of this type and scope, work dates are subject to change.
Arches National Park is open daily from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and weekends from 7:00 am Friday until 7:00 pm Sunday during this road construction project.
The park will be open the following holiday weekends:
- Memorial Day: 7:00 am Friday, May 26th to 7:00 pm Tuesday, May 30th
- Independence Day: 7:00 am Monday, July 3rd to 7:00 pm Wednesday, July 5th
- Pioneer Day: 7:00 am Friday, July 21st to 7:00 pm Tuesday, July 25th
- Labor Day: 7:00 am Friday, September 1st to 7:00 pm Tuesday, September 5th
- Utah Education Association : 7:00 am Wednesday, October 18th to 7:00 pm Sunday, October 22nd
Other than the above holiday weekends, the park is closed nightly Sunday through Thursday from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. Vehicles are prohibited from stopping/lining up on US Highway 191 near the park entrance road while waiting for the park to open in the morning.
Night time closure of the park road is necessary to maximize visitor and contractor safety, and help alleviate travel impacts during the day when the park is busiest.
During this night time closure, the park road is closed to all use including by vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles. Visitors must be out of the park by 7:00 pm.
Road work will resurface, restore, and rehabilitate approximately 26 miles of roads and pullouts in Arches National Park along the entrance road (from US Highway 191 to the visitor center), main park road, the campground road, and other spur roads and loops. Road work is scheduled to last through November.
Limited daytime road closures may still occur even with nighttime work. Construction crews will use pilot cars and flaggers to control traffic during the day. When partial daytime road closures are in effect, crews will limit traffic delays to 30 minutes or less per work zone.
While construction crews will make every effort to minimize disruption to visitor daytime travel and activities during this project, visitors should expect frequent delays and closures.
The park will post road construction updates on its official website as they become available. However, construction work schedules are subject to change.
Visitors to the Moab area can find a wide variety of spectacular scenery and hikes in other public lands around the region. Information about these other travel and hiking options can be found on the Moab Travel Council’s website:
http://www.discovermoab.com.
