Zion National Park moving forward with south entrance makeover

SPRINGDALE, Utah ( ABC4 ) — The crowded south entrance to Zion National Park is on track to get a major makeover to ease traffic congestion.

On Wednesday, the National Park Service announced a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Environmental Assessment on the proposed redesign. This means the project will move forward without having to undergo a more intensive process for an Environmental Impact Statement.

According to the FONSI document, the redesign is needed because “visitation levels have outgrown the existing road facilities and alignments, creating dangerous and confusing traffic situations with potentially harmful interactions between vehicles and more vulnerable road users such as bicyclists and pedestrians.”

The redesign plans would realign the Zion – Mount Carmel Highway from the South Entrance Fee Station to the Zion Canyon Visitor Center, adding roundabouts, a new vehicle and pedestrian bridge, reconfigured parking for large vehicles, and en route trails. Construction on the project is expected to last two years.

“Hikers, bikers, drivers, and shuttle riders are all going to benefit from these improvements,” Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said in a statement Wednesday.

With its otherworldly sandstone canyons, Zion is the most popular national park in Utah, and a majority of its visitors use the south entrance, located near Springdale.

Earlier this year, NPS officials announced the public scoping period for the redesign project and outlined two options in the Environmental Assessment: One would have left the south entrance as is while the redesign project was the “preferred option.”

In the FONSI document, NPS said they opted for the redesign because it best meets the “purpose and need for the action without causing significant impacts on park resources.”

A public comment period was held during the spring, and 48 responses were submitted, NPS said. Park management considered the comments while weighing whether to go forward with the redesign project.

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