State Route 89A in Oak Creek Canyon between Sedona and Flagstaff opened two weeks ago in both directions with no delays.

The rain and snow amounts Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 impaired the highway and resulted in the Arizona Department of Transportation closing it for about a week while crews surveyed the damage.

After detecting a small washed-out portion of the road, ADOT narrowed traffic to one-lane and put up temporary lights so drivers could travel the east side of the highway.

ADOT Spokesman Rod Wigman said the repairs made cost $150,000 and were completed by the night of March 19. Temporary lights were removed, and both lanes of traffic reopened with no delays or waits.

Wigman said the construction company hired by ADOT had until March 19 to finish the project, and ADOT was not sure the construction company would meet the deadline.

Bad weather hampered the repair process and made work impossible some days, so extra time was allotted, Wigman said.

“[The weather] made it where they could not work during that time,” he said.

The highway in the damaged area is now in much better shape, and Wigman said the damage enabled ADOT to make improvements that may never have happened otherwise.

The edge of the road was repaired, so any future rain and snow produced by storms in Oak Creek Canyon will drain away from the pavement.

Wigman said close to 100 feet of repairs to the highway were made, even though only approximately 50 feet of it washed away.

Constructing the retaining wall was one of the most important parts of the project, Wigman said. It is a major improvement over the slope embankment and guardrail, which proved ineffective in stopping dirt from spilling onto the roadway.

“The wall will keep that dirt away from [the pavement],” he said. It is secured by steel spikes driven into the ground.

“There is no way it will wash out again,” he said, because the wall keeps the dirt packed in under the road, which is needed for support.

Wigman said more work needs to be done on State Route 89A but in different locations.

He said the rain and snow resulted in various potholes, and ADOT repaired them with a temporary fix, so drivers would not be impacted.

Since the weather is warming up, ADOT will repair the potholes in a more permanent manner with hot asphalt. This work can only be done in warmer weather.

Wigman said when this work is underway, there will be some delays, but not major ones.