Almota road closures lifted

A full road closure of 2.5 miles of Almota Road (from Stevick Road to Upper Union Flat Road) is set to be ended Friday – which has been closed since March.

The opening, after months of work on the ongoing Almota Road Phase Four expansion project, comes after a shorter, temporary road closure was lifted Monday at the intersection of Stevick Road going south -- following the arrival of water springs which complicated the work.

Overall, the 3.5 mile project remains on task for its target for completion at the end of September.

“We're quite a bit ahead of schedule considering the initial estimate,” said Dean Cornelison, assistant county engineer.

Friday's opening is described as for “passable traffic” – onto a section of gravel and shot-rock surface, subject to pilot cars and flaggers.

“Open to the public is a subjective term,” said Mark Storey, Public Works superintendent. “I would prefer just local traffic on the road. It's harder to get the work done with traffic going through.”