ZION NATIONAL PARK – Assistant Superintendent Bill Cox has announced that the scheduled early closure of the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway within Zion National Park on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 has been postponed one day due to weather. The new day for an early closure, weather permitting, is Thursday, October 7. The road will close at 4:00 p.m. instead of 8:00 p.m. that day. The early closure is necessary to allow road painting during daylight hours.
The paint cannot be applied if the road surface is wet or it is raining. The weather forecast is currently favorable for painting late Thursday afternoon. However, if the wet weather pattern currently in place lingers, this part of the project may have to be postponed again until next week. Road construction personnel apologize for the inconvenience of the change and appreciate the public’s understanding and patience for weather-based work that needs to be done.
The road will close at the park’s East Entrance and at the junction of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 7. All vehicles must be past these closure points and moving out of the construction area at that time. Any unattended vehicle left parked in the construction zone will not be allowed to drive on the road until the paint has cured.
The Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway is closed to all vehicles 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., Sunday through Thursday nights. The road is open to passenger cars 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and all times from Friday at 8 a.m. to Sunday at 8 p.m. The closure hours for passenger cars will lift when the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway Reconstruction Project is completed. The expected completion date is October 28,2010. Hours for large vehicles 7 feet 10 inches wide or wider and/or 11 feet 4 inches tall or taller are currently 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
Alternate routes for travelers between US Highway 89 and Zion Canyon are Utah SR 59 from Hurricane to Arizona SR 389(1.5 hours—good for large vehicles); Utah SR 14 from Cedar City to Long Valley Junction (2 hours—steep grades/curves); or from I-15 to Utah SR 20 (2 hours—good for large vehicles).
For updated Zion-Mt Carmel Highway construction information, call 435-772-3256 (press 1, then 4) or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/zion.