SPRINGDALE – Starting Sept. 16, Zion National Park will be resurfacing its signature red roads. Work will start at the south entrance and focus mostly on the 1.4-mile section of the main park highway to the junction with Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, as well as the six-mile stretch of Scenic Drive to the Temple of Sinawava.
The resurfacing is expected to take up to two weeks to complete, dependent upon weather conditions, and will be suspended over weekends. One-lane travel, with traffic control, will be maintained and motorists may experience delays of 15-30 minutes. The Zion Canyon shuttle buses will continue to operate during the project.
Access to the Temple of Sinawava will be closed Sept. 18 and park shuttles will go no farther than Big Bend that day.
Later in the week, the Zion Human History Museum and parking lot will be closed and park shuttle buses will bypass the museum for a day. While the museum is closed, Ranger Talks scheduled at 11:25 a.m. and 2:25 p.m. will be held at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. Ranger-led shuttle tours will also be canceled while the Scenic Drive is being resurfaced.
The road resurfacing involves chip sealing, which consists of coating the road with a combination of oil and rock chips. Local red cinders are used to create the pigment in Zion’s signature red roads. The layer of chips must remain on the roads for two to three weeks before the remaining loose chips are swept and removed. During this time, motorists and bicyclists should be aware of the hazards of a layer of loose rock chips. Travel speed should be reduced to help prevent injuries or windshield damage from flying chips.
For more information, call the park’s 24-hour visitor hotline at 435-772-3256.
Submitted by: Zion National Park
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