Nightly road closures are coming to the east entrance of Zion National Park in Utah so crews can do maintenance and historic preservation work on the bridges and tunnels of the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway.
The work is scheduled to begin this coming Sunday, April 4, and continue into late August. The weekly construction schedule calls for weekday work to begin at 7 p.m. and quit at 5 a.m. No construction is scheduled to occur over the weekends from 5 a.m. Friday until 10 p.m. Sunday.
During the weekly construction schedule, tunnel hours for oversized vehicle operations will end at 7 p.m. One-way traffic control will be provided from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. A full closure to all vehicle traffic will be implemented in the tunnels Sunday through Friday from 10 pm. to 5 a.m. To accommodate anticipated seasonal increases in visitor traffic, oversized vehicle operation hours will change to end at 8 p.m. beginning April 23.
Proceeding with construction and full closures at night is anticipated to decrease traffic congestion, reduce visitor impacts, as well as facilitate safe and efficient working environment for the construction crew. Strategic vehicle closures will also help reduce impacts from artificial light intrusion on night skies and wildlife.
Construction on the North Fork Virgin River Bridge and East Portal Bridge will occur during normal business hours so visitors should anticipate minor delays. One lane of vehicle travel will be provided throughout the construction period on the bridges.
Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920s and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States.
The purpose of building the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park. Today the tunnel is basically the same as it was upon its completion more than 80 years ago. This preservation project will improve the safety of the bridges and tunnels in Zion National Park.
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