Galtrandland officials announced that the main road to Yosemite National Park is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, just in time for the long holiday weekend.
Officials said the two-mile highway 140 closed after the rain, causing rocks to slide into the road, but would reopen under one-way traffic control. The nearest park visitors rushed to park visitors during the long Cesar Chavez holiday weekend, which made the weather exceptionally warm for California and private contractors and gave Galtrance and private contractors plenty of time to clear the road.
The importance of the road to the local economy in the busy early spring, said Brian Hooker, a public informant at Caltrans.
“It’s one of the busiest weekends … but it’s important to support local businesses,” Hook said.
Hook said that despite the road opening, crews will have to stop intermittently while they re-prepared and carried out additional repairs from the recent losses.
About two miles on the highway (the main road to the park) on the main road between Brisburg and El Portal, the wet weather last week shut down after rocks fell into the narrow canyon.
California has suffered repeated storms over the past few weeks that have dumped a few feet on the hills and have caused debris flow and rock slides on highways across the state.
According to the National Weather Service, Yosemite Valley recorded 7.38 inches of rain during the recent storm, while El Portal recorded 6.48 inches.
Despite the reopening of the road, Caltrans recommends park visitors follow the live updates of its QuickMap app.
