Huge rocks had to be cleared after a slide blocked El Portal Road near the border of Yosemite National Park/NPS

El Portal Road (Highway 140), one of the main routes into Yosemite National Park, reopened at 7 p.m. Saturday after a rockslide Monday had covered a section of the road with up to 20 feet of debris.

Park officials originally estimated that the road and Arch Rock Entrance would remain closed through the weekend after 4,000 tons of rock slid down a cliff, onto the road, and into the Merced River two miles east of the park boundary. Since then, crews have been working to clear the rock and debris and have been assessing the condition of the roadway, including an underground sewer line.

The first two miles of the El Portal Road from the park boundary is signed as a no-stopping zone.

“Visitors driving through the damaged section of the road should follow all road signs and drive with caution,” the park said in a news release. “The damaged section of road has been repaired with gravel, and there may be dirt and debris in the roadway.”

YARTS service will resume its normal schedule on Sunday. Visit www.yarts.com for more information.

For current road conditions in Yosemite, call 209-372-0200, press 1, then 1 again.