Grand Canyon - South Rim Roads Improvement Project To Begin

South Rim Roads Improvement Project to begin in Early January at Hermit Road Interchange Hermit Road and Hermits Rest Accessible via Detour; Village Route Shuttle will Continue to Operate.

Grand Canyon, AZ- Construction will begin as early as January 2, 2018 at the Hermit Road interchange to resurface and improve the Hermit Road and Village Loop intersection. This is the first part of a 2018 Federal Highways Administration project to improve several intersections and about 15 miles of roads in the park. The road improvements will help preserve and extend the life of existing roads. Work will be completed by Fann Contracting, Inc of Prescott, AZ.

During this first phase of construction, Village Loop Road between the west end of Bright Angel Lodge parking lot and the south end of the Maswik Lodge complex will be closed and detours will be in place. Traffic from the El Tovar Hotel to the west end of the Bright Angel Lodge parking lot will become two-way traffic.

To accommodate this, there will be no street-side parking for visitors or residents near the El Tovar, Kachina, Thunderbird, and Bright Angel lodges, Colter Hall, or the Train Depot. Buses and oversize vehicles will be able to turn around using the Bright Angel Lodge parking lot.

Hermit Road will remain open via a detour from Maswik Lodge. To access Hermit Road and viewpoints, Hermits Rest, and the Hermit Trail, traffic will be rerouted from Maswik Lodge Road to Rowe Well Road. Detour signs will be in place. The Village Route shuttle bus will continue to operate and the timetable and stops may be adjusted.

Informational signs will be posted at the bus stops.

Next phases of the construction project will occur throughout 2018, with overall completion anticipated in fall 2018. The NPS will send out regular updated announcements about predicted closures, detours, and possible impacts to traffic, visitors, and residents.

There will be an opportunity for interested community members and the public to hear updates about the project, next steps, and to meet with the contractor and NPS staff during an open house on January 10, 2018. The open house will be held from 4 pm to 6 pm at Shrine of the Ages. All members of the community and public are welcome to stop by anytime during the open house.

Grand Canyon National Park, located in northern Arizona, encompasses 277 miles (446 km) of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands. One of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world, Grand Canyon is unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers visitors on the rim. Grand Canyon National Park is a World Heritage Site. The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by the American

people so that all may experience our heritage.