Roadwork Continues North Of Grand Canyon After Flooding

By Stina Sieg
Published: Monday, August 17, 2015 - 4:44pm
Updated: Tuesday, August 18, 2015 - 9:55am
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(Photo Courtesy of Arizona Dept. of Transportation)
Crews are currently working on 89A, including adding drainage channels to allow flood water to safely pass under the roadway.

A highway north of the Grand Canyon is still reduced to one lane more than a week after heavy rain left it swamped with mud and boulders. But more work on US 89A is set to begin soon.

Crews from the Arizona Department of Transportation spent last week clearing boulders, some as big as 15 feet in diameter, from a small stretch of road between Marble Canyon and Jacob Lake. That’s what the Rock House flood left in its wake on Aug. 9, after the National Weather Service said 1.5 inches of rain fell in 20 minutes. Now, less than half a mile of the roadway is still one-way.

ADOT can’t estimate when the road 89A will be completely restored, but said it has moved into the second phase of the repair, with pavement and drainage work yet to come.