Fresh asphalt over Jubilee Pass has been laid, allowing you to once again use this route into Death Valley National Park/NPS

After months of reconstruction, the highway leading over Jubilee Pass into Death Valley National Park in California is open to traffic. To celebrate, the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration are hosting a ribbon cutting on Friday.

The so-called Jubilee Pass Jubilation will provide an opportunity to learn about the history of Badwater Road, the work required to reopen it, and its current importance to visitors and Death Valley National Park's gateway communities. A ribbon will be cut to symbolize the road opening.

Storms last October washed out most of the road over Jubilee Pass/NPS

Flash floods heavily damaged Badwater Road in October 2015. National Park Service staff were able to clear debris off the northern 47 miles of the road to open that portion within a couple months. However, the extensive missing pavement and road base in the Jubilee Pass section was beyond the park’s ability to repair. Federal Highway Administration provided the funding and project management of the repair work, which was done under contract by William Kanayan Construction.

The Jubilee Pass section of Badwater Road opened to the public on July 22, restoring a direct connection between southern Death Valley and the gateway community of Shoshone, California. This closure was especially frustrating to park visitors during this past spring’s wildflower “superbloom.”

October’s storms also caused extensive damage at Scotty’s Castle in northern Death Valley National Park. Repairs to utilities at the site are underway. Other repair work will be done in phases over the next couple of years, with a target of reopening Scotty’s Castle in 2019.