Temporary Highway On Navajo Nation Completed

By Dennis Lambert
Published: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 - 10:08am
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The Department of Transportation says it has completed the bypass on the Navajo Nation, near Page, after US 89 was damaged by a landslide.

Spokesman Dustin Krugel says the $35 million, 44-mile highway will be used on a temporary basis until repairs can be made to the main roadway, but the speed and daytime-only use restrictions that had been in place have been lifted.

“We spotted horses, goats and cows and dogs near the roadway the last several months,” Krugel said. “So that’s why it was so important that we got the fencing completed along this corridor.”

Krugel says work on replacing the damaged highway will hopefully start by the middle of next year. Before that, he says extensive environmental and right of way clearances need to be completed.