CEDAR CITY – The Dixie National Forest announced today a temporary closure on the Bowery Creek Road, also known as Forest Road 049, for two weeks from April 9 through 20. The closure will allow for work to begin on improving site distance around sharp curves, widening some sections of the road, and improving the road surface from State Highway 143 to the Yankee Meadow Reservoir.
The road improvement project is funded by the U.S. Forest Service, but the project is administered by the Iron County Engineer’s Office, with the work being completed by local contractors. This phase of the project follows the completion of the new Bowery Creek bridge, which was installed in 2011.
Iron County has requested the two-week closure in order to make the most efficient use of heavy equipment such as excavators, backhoes, and dump trucks that will be moving to, from, and within various construction sites on the road, hauling materials and completing road work. The work will occur in areas of limited site distance on steep, narrow, and winding sections of the road. Heavy equipment will take up the entire width of the road during this work, rendering it unsafe for travel by the general public until after this phase of the project has been completed.
“The safety of employees and visitors to the forest is our number one priority, and this is an ideal time of the year for Iron County to get a jump on this road project,” said Cedar City District Ranger Veronica Magnuson. “The recreation season has not yet started in the Yankee Meadows area, and most roads in the upper Yankee Meadows basin are still snow-covered or are too wet to allow general access. The County can make efficient progress towards getting a lot of the dirt work completed for this project before the camping and fishing season arrives.”
Closure barricades will be in place during the construction period for the week of April 9, but barricades will be removed during the weekend of April 14 and 15. The closure will be back in place during the week of April 16, and it is anticipated that this phase of the project will be completed by April 20. After the road has re-opened, resurfacing will continue into the summer months and temporary delays can be expected by visitors until the project is completed.
For more information on the temporary closure, please contact the Cedar City Ranger District at 435-865-3200.