Arizona requests $2M in funding to repair flood-damaged highway
Oct 13, 2015, 4:17 PM
(Arizona Department of Transportation Photo)
PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey is asking the federal government for $2 million for repairs on a flood-damaged highway in Northern Arizona.
The two-lane US 89A between Jacob Lake and Marble Canyon was covered in boulders and mud in mid-August after heavy rain moved through the area. It took crews working around the clock the better part of two days to clear one lane so traffic could get through. Traffic is still restricted on a small portion of the road.
Ducey filed the request for two reasons: To be reimbursed for the initial costs to reopen the road and to fund long-term repairs currently underway.
The Arizona Department of Transportation said repair work on three lanes of pavement and additional structures, including drainage, is expected to be completed by the end of November.
“Arizona taxpayers benefit from the FHWA’s emergency relief program because we do not have to tap into state funds,” ADOT State Engineer Dallas Hammit said in a release.
A similar request was granted in 2013, when a landslide destroyed a portion of US 89, a nearby highway with a similar route. The landslide, about 25 miles south of Page, forced a 23-mile closure of the highway and a large detour that caused difficulties for tourists.