Arches road maintenance plan gets green light
Nov 14, 2013 | 900 views | 0 0 comments | 36 36 recommendations | email to a friend | print
The National Park Service (NPS) has announced a “Finding of No Significant Impact” (FONSI) for a park-wide road maintenance and modification project in Arches National Park. The FONSI was signed by the acting Intermountain Regional Director on Oct. 18 after review and analysis of the possible environmental impacts of the project as well as public comments received on the Environmental Assessment released in July.

The Central Federal Highway Administration, in cooperation with the NPS, will rehabilitate, restore and resurface approximately 23 miles of road and pullouts in the park. The project also includes construction of turnarounds at the Windows and Devils Garden loop roads, removal and replacement of railing at Courthouse Wash bridge, drainage work near the entrance station and construction of an additional entrance lane for pass-holders and possible future shuttle bus operations.

The project will occur in two phases. The first phase was scheduled to start in October on the Devils Garden Loop road, where parking will be reconfigured and expanded and a turnaround lane constructed. That work is expected take one to two months this winter and one to two months in the spring of 2014 to complete, park officials said in a news release. The second phase will start in 2016 and will require two summer construction seasons to complete, according to the news release.

The FONSI is available online at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/arch_road_maintenance_FONSI.
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