Stretch of State Route 88 reopens with vehicle restrictions after 5-year closure
Sep 17, 2024, 4:15 AM | Updated: Sep 24, 2024, 12:20 pm
A stretch of highway on State Route 88 reopened after five years of closure due to flooding. (Arizona Department of Transportation)
(Arizona Department of Transportation)
PHOENIX – A stretch of State Route 88 (Apache Trail) that has been closed since 2019 has reopened with restrictions to certain vehicles.
The Arizona Department of Transportation announced on Monday that they completed a $4 million interim project to restore limited access between mileposts 222 and 227.
The road will be accessible to high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles and utility terrain vehicles.
Signs reading, “CAUTION: Primitive Road. No Trailers. 4-Wheel Drive and UTVs Only (Except Authorized Vehicles),” will warn drivers in the area of Fish Creek Vista.
Access to Apache Lake will be accessible to motorists towing trailers and boats by traveling on the eastside of SR 88 from State Route 188. Canyon Lake, Tortilla Flat and other locations west of the restricted road will be reachable from the East Valley.
The five-mile section of the highway between Fish Creek Vista and the Reavis Trailhead turnoff had been closed for five years due to extensive flooding in 2019.
Despite restoring the highway, ADOT is seeking an estimated $33.7 million in federal funding for additional repairs that will make the stretch of the highway accessible to other vehicles and would be able to withstand storms.
Another project to upgrade parts of SR 88 between Roosevelt and Apace lakes will close that area of the highway from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Sunday evenings through Thursday mornings.
