Contact: Norma Sosa, 760-252-6102
Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Todd Suess announced today that railroad crossings in the park will be closed intermittently in March so that Union Pacific Railroad (UP) can upgrade the tracks. The closings will interrupt through traffic on Kelbaker, Cedar Canyon (Mojave Road), and Ivanpah Roads, and the unpaved portion of Cima Road.
Park visitors are advised that there is currently no access to Death Valley Mine by way of the unpaved extension of Cima Road east of Kelso Cima Road. Crews began rehabilitating the siding and track crossing on the Cima Road extension on February 21st. Access is expected to be restored on March 1st. During the closing of Cedar Canyon Road (Mojave Road) near Kelso Cima Road, access to Kelso Cima Road from the east will be available only through park roads that connect with Nipton Road, I-15, and I-40. During the closing of the Kelbaker Road crossing at Kelso Cima Road in Kelso, CA, temporarily interrupting use of the park’s north/south routes, drivers can use I-15 or U.S. Route 95 to skirt the park. Those alternate routes add only about 10 minutes to the drive time from Palm Springs or Twentynine Palms to Las Vegas. The rest of Kelbaker and Kelso Cima Roads will remain open while UP crews rehabilitate the crossing, allowing access for visitors to the park’s iconic sites, including the Kelso Dunes, the Joshua tree forest at Cima Dome, and the Cinder Cone Lava Beds. The closing of the crossing on Ivanpah Road will affect only through traffic between I-40 and Nipton Road. The rest of Ivanpah Road will remain open. |
Last updated: February 23, 2017