Death Valley National Park’s Emigrant Canyon Road Closing For Repairs

By

Compiled from NPS releases

Published Date

December 30, 2024

Emigrant Canyon Road in Death Valley will close January 6 for three months of repairs/NPS file

Death Valley National Park’s Emigrant Canyon Road, damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Hilary back in August 2023, will close January 6 for repairs and not reopen until March.

While the road is closed there will not be be any road access to Wildrose.

"This construction includes armoring to protect the road from flash floods. Climate change is increasing the frequency of severe floods,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “Unfortunately, we need to close the road now so the work can happen.”

Flooding from the degraded hurricane extensively damaged Emigrant Canyon Road, leaving drop-offs up to six feet deep where pavement used to be. The Federal Highway Administration hired a contractor to fill in missing road segments with aggregate and cold patch asphalt. This allowed the Emigrant Canyon Road to temporarily reopen in spring 2024.

Starting January 6, a second FHWA contract will bury concrete barriers and rock-filled gabions in the road shoulders. These structures will protect the most vulnerable sections of the road from future flash floods, a park release said.

The work is funded by FHWA Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads program and by the National Park Service’s Disaster Supplemental funding.

Since Lower Wildrose Road is also closed due to flood damage, there will be no road access to Wildrose Campground, Wildrose Charcoal Kilns, Wildrose Peak Trail, Thorndike Campground, Mahogany Flat Campground, or Telescope Peak Trail until early March.

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