http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/50476 ... y.html.csp

Z

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'06 RB50 SMB Diesel

https://www.tomsinclair.net

We camped at the top of Mineral Bottom this weekend and the road looked worse than it does in the photos in the article! Definitely a lot of work/money is going to be required to fit it.

Here the latest regarding the Mineral Bottom road from the Times Independant Journal of Moab issue dated October 21, 2010:

Mineral Bottom Road eligible for emergency funds to restore access to federal lands
by Craig Bigler
contributing writer Moab Times Independent

The Mineral Bottom Road will be restored in time for at least part of next year’s tourist season, Rep. Jim Matheson announced Monday. The Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief of Federally Owned Roads office informed Matheson that the project is eligible for federal emergency road funding, and a request for funding to repair the road has been approved, Matheson said.

That request for funding was submitted to the Federal Highway Administration by the Moab office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in September. Mineral Bottom Road, which ends near an area called Horsethief Point, provides boat access to the Green River and access north to the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. Several sections of the road were completely washed out by heavy rains on Aug. 19.

A scoping trip by engineers could take place as early as next week, according to Seth Greenwell, project coordinator for the Emergency Relief of Federally Owned Roads program (ERFO).

“The intent is to have the road repaired and open to public traffic as soon as possible, within the 2011 season,” Greenwell said, cautiously adding that the work might be completed by next summer.

The scoping trip will be conducted to collect the specific site measurements and geotechnical information necessary to determine how the road repairs will be designed. Design and construction for the repairs will use a fast-track approach to maximize the use of available contracting flexibility, Greenwell said.

“This is the type of emergency that the federal highway program was designed to mitigate. I appreciate how quickly everyone on the ground worked together to provide the information to my office so that we could speed the repair forward,” Matheson said.

Matheson praised the cooperative efforts of the Grand County Council, the BLM, and the Utah governor’s office for getting a quick approval from ERFO.

“It’s a tribute to the spirit of cooperation and the working history here. When there’s a problem in this county everyone sits down and works it out,” said Shelley Smith, director of the BLM Moab District Office.

The road can only be rebuilt to its approximate original condition, Greenwell said, and ERFO funds cannot be used to enhance the road or to increase its capacity.

How soon in the 2011 tourist season the work will be completed depends on specific site measurements and geotechnical information necessary to establish a design approach, Greenwell said.

His agency will follow a “fast track approach,” by attempting to overlap design and construction “where ever possible,” Greenwell said.

Matheson and Greenwell agreed that an economic analysis of the road’s importance to the local economy, conducted by the BLM, played a “key role” in the quick approval for federal funding.

The BLM analysis estimated that the road closure will cost county businesses approximately $4.9 million in lost sales revenues and could result in the loss of 87 jobs. The study also concluded that $1.9 million in income will be lost because of the foregone sales and jobs, and $319,000 in state and local tax receipts will be lost every year the road is closed.

The BLM study estimated the cost of repair will be about $1.9 million. The actual cost is yet to be determined, Greenwell said.

ERFO’s mission “is to provide funding and engineering services to restore access to public lands,” according to its website.

The Mineral Bottom Road is owned by the BLM and maintained by Grand County under a long-standing agreement, Smith said.


Hans Weibel
Moab, Urah

We recently got this photo, taken in October 2010, of one of the vehicles stuck at the bottom of the Mineral Bottom road due to the washout:

The friends who took this tell me there are several other vehicles, some of them now up on jacks, sitting there with sand drifting slowly around them.
But all is not lost. We also got this update from the Moab canoe outfitter we have used for many years to facilitate our Labyrinth Canyon trips on the Green River:

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2009 Sprinter RB custom floorplan began conversion at SMB West in August 2010, delivered December 20, 2010. Diesel furnace/water heater (Espar D5), gaucho, porta potti, exterior shower, sink, fridge, micro, vent fan, cargo storage in rear.

Great update. Thanks.

If that Toyota is stuck at Mineral Bottom, either the vehicle has some problems, or there are some other road problems south along the river or at Hardscrabble Hill that will need to be fixed after Mineral Bottom is opened up. That truck would have no issues driving the White Rim Road.I will be curious to hear what news comes of that.

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2002 E350 EB - Voyager top - 7.3 - Quigley 4WD

Here the latest regarding the reconstruction from the Times Independent, Moab's leading newspaper:

http://www.moabtimes.com/view/full_stor ... n-contract?

Think spring....

Hans Weibel
Moab, Utah

Great news from Moab: Repaired Mineral Bottom Road to reopen March 29, 2 months earlier then expected.

Read more in the Moab Times-Independent:

http://www.moabtimes.com/view/full_stor ... news_right

Think spring

Hans Weibel
Moab, Utah

Thanks for the update Hans.

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2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures

Received the following by email today:

Mineral Bottom Road Re-opens

After an interesting few months of trials and tribulations, we are finally able to send an email with nothing but good news to share

GOOD NEWS # 1

As of March, 29th 2011 the Mineral Bottom road has been reopened for public use.



For those of you who have been following our previous emails you undoubtedly remember that late last summer we lost access to Mineral Bottom on the Green River, due to a huge flash flood and significant damage having been done to the Mineral Bottom road. In what we can only describe as an amazing effort on the part of The Bureau of Land Management, our local government officials here in Grand County, and a local road construction company called K-SUE, the road that we thought would be out of commission for quite some time has been repaired and is in better shape than it has ever been. Not only was the road repaired in an unbelievably short period of time (around 3 months of time on site) but it was done in roughly half the cost of what was originally projected.

For more detailed information please see the article that appeared in our local newspaper on March, 31st.

http://www.moabtimes.com/view/full_s...ws_right<br />

What this means for Tex's Riverways and our clients is a return to "normal" where Mineral Bottom is concerned. We will no longer be using Spring Canyon for any launch or pick-up activity. Our routine of utilizing Mineral Bottom as a launch and pick-up location is what you can expect for trips that have already booked a trip that involves Mineral Bottom or for those planning a trip for 2011 who have yet to book. We are sure that there are some of you who might have been looking forward to Spring Canyon as a "change of pace" for your 2011 river trip. Unfortunately our use of Spring Canyon was permitted by the Bureau of Land Management on a temporary basis only and was conditional on the completion of repairs at Mineral Bottom. With those repairs now complete we are no longer authorized to use Spring Canyon for river access.

We would like to thank all of you for your patience and support with this situation.

GOOD NEWS # 2

Our engine and jet upgrade to our large jet boat is complete and the results are more pleasing than we ever dreamed would be possible. The work that we had done over the winter is ideally going to end up being a good thing for us as a company and hopefully for all of you clients who will use our services in the future. Our boat is now more powerful, more maneuverable and all-around better able to do the work we need it to do. Our new engines are turbo charged diesel engines that are both more fuel efficient and "noticeably quieter" in the opinion of clients who have already been on our boat this year. With this added power our new engines won't have to work as hard as our old engines did to do the same job. As an added bonus the boat is also now much faster which will make the ride home more timely and leisurely.

This upgrade represents a significant reinvestment in our company for us, one that will hopefully result in an improvement in the quality of service that we are providing. These last few years we have been working hard to improve all aspects of our service with a new SUV, a new bus, new vans, new Old Town canoes and now the upgrade to the jet boat. All of these improvements are done with you mind as we try to maintain the high standard of service and reliability that you have come to expect.

Thanks for doing business with us and we hope to have the opportunity to work with you again. The rivers in Canyonlands are ready and waiting.

The Boys @ Tex's Riverways

Website: http://www.texsriverways.com
Email Address: info@texsriverways.com

Tex's Riverways
P.O. Box 67
Moab UT 84532

(435) 259-5101
(877) 662-2839 toll free

__________________
2009 Sprinter RB custom floorplan began conversion at SMB West in August 2010, delivered December 20, 2010. Diesel furnace/water heater (Espar D5), gaucho, porta potti, exterior shower, sink, fridge, micro, vent fan, cargo storage in rear.