Emergency declaration provides additional resources for US 89 repair

March 04, 2013

The state of Arizona and Coconino County have both issued emergency declarations after the collapse of a section of US 89, south of Page, late last month.

County spokesman Nathan Gonzales says the actions free up additional resources to start work on the 150-foot section of roadway that buckled and slid several feet down a mountainside.

“If the county is impacted in the future because of this incident, it can seek resources from, I believe, the state and the federal level,” Gonzales said.

In the meantime, repair work is to begin Monday on the Hell Canyon Bridge.

“Drivers should plan to allow a little extra travel time since the highway’s going to be narrowed to one lane, but the good thing is, we are going to be trying to complete this project for the end of the month,” Department of Transportation spokesman Dustin Krugel said.

Krugel says traffic will be restricted to one lane as bridge work continues around the clock at a cost of $300,000 dollars.

Gonzales says there are alternate routes to get from Flagstaff to Page but that it adds significant time to the trip.