The Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120) within Yosemite National Park will close for repairs at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 and is expected to last until early April. The repairs are necessary after the road was damaged in a large rockslide in January. The Big Oak Flat Road will be closed to all traffic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week between the Foresta Road Junction and the El Portal Road Junction. There will be no access to or from Yosemite Valley via Highway 120.
You’ll still be able to get to Yosemite Valley via the El Portal Road (Highway 140) coming from Merced/Mariposa and via Wawona Road (Highway 41) coming from Fresno/ Oakhurst. The Foresta Road, between Foresta and El Portal, is not accessible.
Visitors staying in Yosemite Valley or El Portal will need to drive to Mariposa then up Highway 49 through Bear Valley to Coulterville and then up Highway 132 to Highway 120 to access the north side of the park. Like wise, visitors staying in Groveland, or Hodgdon Meadow Campground will need to exit the park on Highway 120 and take Highway 132 to Highway 49 then drive south on Highway 49 to Mariposa and up Highway 140 into the park.
“The park reopened the road five days after the rockslide after removing rocks and debris. However, the damaged section is not paved and needs permanent repairs to allow for safe travel. Working with engineers from the Federal Highway Administration, it was determined that there was extensive structural damage to the roadway necessitating a total rebuild of the affected section. Crews will be working below the steep slope in the rockslide area seven days per week, twenty hours per day, in order to expedite the repair of the damaged section of the road.”
“The park secured emergency funding for the road repair and is now scheduling these repairs so the work is completed and the road reopened prior to the busy spring and summer seasons.(via NPS)
Stay tuned and we’ll fill you in as we get more information on how the repairs are progressing.
Comments
One response to “Highway 120 Closed Until Easter for Repair”
I know the road needs to be repaired but six weeks to repair a 40 foot section of road!
There should at least be an escort to get through in the morning and evenings.
It is 100 miles of windy roads to go around and get to Yosemite Valley.
Many of us work there and cannot make this situation work.
This is a major artery for the residents of Foresta where I live, and a major disruption to businesses along the Highway 120 corridor and in Foresta.