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Work Ongoing To Repair Big Oak Flat Road At Yosemite National Park

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By NPT Staff - April 5th, 2017

Repairs to the Big Oak Flat Road in Yosemite are no easy patch and pave deal/NPS

One reason the National Park Service has such a hard time reducing its maintenance backlog is the fact that very little stands still in a national park environment. At Yosemite National Park in California, for instance, slippage that damaged a section of the Big Oak Flat Road has kept crews working, and maintenance costs escalating, since late February.

As the accompanying photographs show, this repair project is no small endeavor. Most recently, crews this week hit the bottom of an underground spring that caused soils to erode beneath the road, and are working to stabilize and rebuild the road. 

“We are very pleased with the progress being made on the repairs to the Big Oak Flat Road,” said Chip Jenkins, the park's acting superintendent. “We appreciate the support of the Federal Highway Administration to repair this critical roadway in a safe and expedient manner. The communities along the Highway 120 corridor have been impacted by this closure and we appreciate their patience and support as we work as quickly as possible to get the road reopened.”

Severe winter storms that have gave new life to the spring caused saturated, heavy soils under the road to slide downhill. More than 200 feet of roadway has been impacted. As a result, the Big Oak Flat Road from Crane Flat to Foresta Junction has been unsafe for vehicular travel and closed for repairs since late February.

No prediction has been made when the work will be completed and the road reopened/NPS

Visitors still are encouraged to visit Yosemite National Park via the Big Oak Flat entrance. The park has waived the entrance fee for all vehicles entering via the Big Oak Flat Entrance Station. Visitors entering the park via Highway 120 can enjoy camping at Hodgdon Meadow Campground, snowshoeing and Nordic skiing from Crane Flat and hiking in the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias. Park entrance fees still apply to all visitors entering the park via the Arch Rock and South Entrance Stations.

Highway 140 (El Portal Road) and Highway 41 (Wawona Road) are open and clear for all vehicular traffic to access Yosemite Valley and Wawona. Visitors traveling to and from Yosemite National Park are urged to drive with caution, follow posted speed limits, and be aware of rocks and debris on the roadway.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again.

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