DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – The National Park Service recently reopened 195 miles of roads in Death Valley National Park. Emigrant Canyon, West Side, Ibex, Saratoga, and Owlshead Roads had been closed since they were damaged by flash floods caused by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary.
Contractors managed by Federal Highway Administration did emergency repairs of Emigrant Canyon Road, a 21-mile paved road. This involved clearing debris off the road, filling in shoulders, and filling in destroyed road sections with aggregate and asphalt cold patch. FHWA’s Emergency Relief for Federally Owned roads program funded the contract.
The NPS repaired 174 miles of unpaved roads that will also open at the same time. Death Valley National Park’s only heavy equipment operator currently on staff was joined each week by two contracted bulldozer operators, a contracted heavy equipment mechanic, and 6-8 equipment operators on loan from other NPS sites. NPS work was partially funded by the FHWA ERFO program and partially funded by the NPS Disaster Supplemental fund source.
Repair work is not finished yet. Environmental and archeological assessments are in progress along Titus Canyon Road, which will likely reopen next spring. Meanwhile, NPS crews are shifting equipment to work on unpaved roads in the eastern and northern areas of the park.