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Release Date: February 6, 2013 In cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, Joshua Tree National Park will begin renovating approximately 11 miles of Pinto Basin Road on Monday, February 11. The primary purpose of the project is to make the road safer for visitor travel. To improve road safety conditions, the existing road bed will be realigned and widened to allow a design speed of 35 or 45 miles per hour. Redesign and realignment of the road will also improve sight distance at the heavily visited Cholla Cactus Garden. In addition, sections of the road damaged by the September 2011 storm, south of Cottonwood Visitor Center, will be repaired and rehabilitated. Low water crossings, damaged sections of asphalt roadway, and shoulders will be repaired and improved. During weekdays visitors may experience travel delays of up to 30 minutes while a pilot car leads vehicles through the construction area. Construction is not scheduled to occur on weekends or holidays. Visitors are urged to drive cautiously around construction areas and to follow instructions. The project is part of a phased effort to rehabilitate many of the park's primary roadways in accordance with the 1995 Joshua Tree National Park General Management Plan. It is anticipated that this phase of the Pinto Basin Road renovation will be completed by late July, 2013. For questions about this project, you may call Kirk Diamond, chief of maintenance at Joshua Tree National Park, 760-367-5680, or Roads Supervisor Jeremie Johnston at 760-367-5683. |
Last updated: August 25, 2017