2023-09-04, 01:13 PM
I thought I would start a thread for anyone lurking in the forum, hoping to plan a trip to DV this season, where we can all leave the gossip and bits of news articles we find to try to help inform them (and us) about what's opening when or how much.
We've already been doing this in other threads, but I thought consolidating it here in the trip planning section would be smart.
LATimes article on 9/4/23 stated that Caltrans crews "are aiming to reopen State Route 190 in about three months." Other articles have also pegged early Dec as the earliest for CA190 to open.
Damage to 190 is stated to be "Among the damaged areas is a 1,500-foot stretch of roadway near Towne Pass that “washed away,” said Christopher Andriessen, a spokesman with the California Department of Transportation, District 9. East of Towne Pass, a 40-foot-wide Arizona crossing — a type of culvert — is gone, as are multiple swaths of pavement between Death Valley Junction and Olancha, Andriessen said, including some as long as 300 feet. As a result, hotels and campgrounds are closed for the foreseeable future."
Official word on anything beyond CA190:
"Other roads, including the one that runs from Furnace Creek to Badwater Basin, the park’s lowest point, are federally managed and also in need of repairs. There is no current estimate for its reopening." Damage is estimated at $6mil to open 190 and a small part of 136.
They are saying that, with 2.2" falling at Furnace, they estimate that 5-10" fell on Telescope Peak. No reports from elsewhere in the park, other than reports that Scotty's castle is undamaged and the pupfish in Ash Meadows are alright.
If anyone picks up any other tidbits on damage or reopening, feel free to add them here.
We've already been doing this in other threads, but I thought consolidating it here in the trip planning section would be smart.
LATimes article on 9/4/23 stated that Caltrans crews "are aiming to reopen State Route 190 in about three months." Other articles have also pegged early Dec as the earliest for CA190 to open.
Damage to 190 is stated to be "Among the damaged areas is a 1,500-foot stretch of roadway near Towne Pass that “washed away,” said Christopher Andriessen, a spokesman with the California Department of Transportation, District 9. East of Towne Pass, a 40-foot-wide Arizona crossing — a type of culvert — is gone, as are multiple swaths of pavement between Death Valley Junction and Olancha, Andriessen said, including some as long as 300 feet. As a result, hotels and campgrounds are closed for the foreseeable future."
Official word on anything beyond CA190:
"Other roads, including the one that runs from Furnace Creek to Badwater Basin, the park’s lowest point, are federally managed and also in need of repairs. There is no current estimate for its reopening." Damage is estimated at $6mil to open 190 and a small part of 136.
They are saying that, with 2.2" falling at Furnace, they estimate that 5-10" fell on Telescope Peak. No reports from elsewhere in the park, other than reports that Scotty's castle is undamaged and the pupfish in Ash Meadows are alright.
If anyone picks up any other tidbits on damage or reopening, feel free to add them here.
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