During the early morning of Oct. 8 a massive landslide, 1,700 feet long, tore apart the highway east of Cedar City. Utah Department of Transportation said the road will require months and millions of dollars to restore.
More than a million cubic yards of rock and mud slid down the mountain on Route 14.
There were no injuries caused by this landslide, but the damage has been catastrophic.
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UDOT made an aerial assessment of the damage and said the clean-up and repair should be completed and the route reopened by summer 2012. The closed area of the road extends from milepost 5 to S.R. 148 Junction.
Kevin Kitchen, public information officer for UDOT, said because of the size of the landslide it is difficult to estimate the nature and cost of the process the department will go through.
“Because of the nature of landslides there are a lot of issues that have to be looked at from a geotechnical standpoint to make sure that everything is solid.”
Kitchen said UDOT’s first priority is to restore the route.
“It is an important corridor for tourism as well as for local economic development and ranching and so forth,” Kitchen said. “It is used quite a bit year-round.”
Aleicia Nay, a resident of Cedar City, lives just a few miles from the landslide. Nay said the disaster has proven to be inconvenient for many in the area.
“Now if anybody needs to get to Cedar Breaks or anywhere else on top of the mountain we have to take about a two hour detour to go up to Parowan and up the canyon, when normally it would take about 45 minutes,” Nay said.
Although businesses on either side of the slide are still accessible, this scenic portion of S.R. 14 leading through Cedar Breaks National Monument and the canyon is closed for the season. The road is often used by tourists this time of year visiting the sights.
Nay said although the businesses within a couple miles of the slide were able to stay open, the natural disaster has had a large impact on their success.
“Not only is it an inconvenience but restaurants like Milt’s thrive off customers coming up or down the canyon,” Nay said. “They have lost a lot of business. They are still open, however they’ve needed to let many of their employees go.”
Bonnie Char, public relations specialist at Cedar City Brian Head Tourism Bureau, said in an email this natural disaster is a major calamity for the tourism business. Char said Iron County has adapted by educating the local public to keep travelers safe.
“Alternate routes … allow visitors to take a scenic drive and see a different part of southern Utah,” Char said. “Visitors can also take advantage of different recreational sites or attractions.”
“Highway 14 is a major thoroughfare for travelers to Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon,” Char said. “Right now, visitors and tour buses traveling to the national parks and Cedar Breaks are being re-routed and still gaining access to the mountain, but once winter sets in there are additional challenges in accessing snowmobile, Nordic skiing areas and national forest land.”
“There have already been losses in changed itineraries from tour operators not stopping in Cedar City for lunch or fuel.”
Udot.utah.gov lists alternate routes to take to avoid the landslide closure.
