CEDAR CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation will provide additional days of access through a landslide repair area on state Route 14 in Cedar Canyon to assist extended holiday tourism travel through Southern Utah.
Beginning Tuesday, July 3 at 4:00 p.m. access will remain open around the clock until the following Monday, July 9 at 7:00 a.m.
Currently travelers can only drive through the Restore 14 project on nights and weekends.
District engineer Jim McConnell says the extra days should make it easier for travelers to utilize local cabins and businesses and provide more travel options between recreational facilities and tourist destinations such as the national parks.
After the holiday week, the road will remain closed during the daytime Monday-Friday through the month of July, with the exception of July 24.
A major landslide destroyed more than a half-mile section of the scenic byway last October. UDOT secured public passage through the slide area ahead of schedule just prior to Memorial Day and as a bonus managed to pave the majority of the road, but instability in another location at the west end of the new road alignment generated safety concerns and more earth work.
Workers are now hauling thousands of additional tons of dirt and rock from the upper slopes across the road, amidst occasional rolling boulders. This work continues during the day to ensure the safety of workers and motorists and to keep project costs down. At the same time, workers are also moving forward with structural fixes in two other areas of the canyon as part of the Restore 14 project. Motorists may experience small delays at these other locations.
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