Oak Creek Canyon road closures now in effect until June 72 min read

Drivers who would normally use State Route 89A at the switchbacks in Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona will need to detour during daytime hours the week of June 3.

An Arizona Department of Transportation rockfall mitigation safety project will require closures and lane restrictions in the area over the next several months.

SR 89A will be closed in both directions between Pine Flat Campground and the Oak Creek Vista scenic overlook between mileposts 387 and 390 from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, June 3 through 7.

The highway will be open to one lane at other times, with temporary traffic signals allowing traffic to move through the area one direction at a time. Drivers should expect delays and add extra travel time to their trips when SR 89A is limited to one lane with alternating traffic.

When SR 89A closures are in place, drivers in the Flagstaff area should plan on using southbound I-17 to northbound SR 179 to reach Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. Northbound traffic in the Sedona area will need to use southbound SR 179 to northbound I-17 to reach Flagstaff.

The rockfall mitigation project and restrictions are scheduled to last until late August. Additional closures will be scheduled as needed as crews work to stabilize a cliff face above SR 89A where a rockslide occurred in March 2023.

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ADOT will provide advance notice of any additional full closures.

A 10-foot vehicle width restriction will be in place in the work zone. ADOT and its contractor are coordinating with local and regional safety agencies to maintain emergency vehicle access and to be prepared if events, including wildfires, require a response.

Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, the AZ511 app or by calling 511.

Christopher Fox Graham

Christopher Fox Graham is the managing editor of the Sedona Rock Rock News, The Camp Verde Journal and the Cottonwood Journal Extra. Hired by Larson Newspapers as a copy editor in 2004, he became assistant manager editor in October 2009 and managing editor in August 2013. Graham has won awards for editorials, investigative news reporting, headline writing, page design and community service from the Arizona Newspapers Association. Graham has also been a guest contributor in Editor & Publisher magazine and featured in the LA Times, New York Post and San Francisco Chronicle. He lectures on journalism and First Amendment law and is a nationally recognized performance aka slam poet. Retired U.S. Army Col. John Mills, former director of Cybersecurity Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs referred to him as "Mr. Slam Poet."

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