(Courtesy of Arizona Department of Transportation)

Construction on U.S. 89 south of Page is underway.

Construction on U.S. 89 south of Page is underway. About 500 feet of the road gave way in February of last year following a landslide.

The Arizona Department of Transportation put a temporary bypass in place until a permanent route could be built. That work is now under way. Crews begin drilling and blasting operations to build the rock buttress to support the new roadway

About a 1,500-foot section of US 89 will be realigned with new pavement. In an interview provided by ADOT, Matt Trembly, project manager for FNF Construction which is overseeing the project, said a whole lot of dirt has to be moved first.

"We’re moving approximately a million cubic yards of rock and dirt and sandstone. It’ll be drills working on top, excavators loading trucks. Trucks going up and down the hill, placing it in the buttress. Basically the hills going to go down and buttress is going to come up," Trembly said.

The route is used by boaters and visitors headed to and from Lake Powell. The closed section of roadway is scheduled to reopen prior to next summer’s busy travel season.