A road within Dinosaur National Monument is now closed after it was discovered to have washed out around a large culvert. Acting Superintendent Eric Gabriel announced the closure of the Rainbow Park/Island Park Road on Thursday, stating that the Rainbow Park Campground and Boat Ramp are now inaccessible. The Rainbow Park/Island Park Road is a 13 mile unpaved road on the Monument’s northwest corner. Staff had not been able to check the road in several days due to snow and road surface conditions but a ranger traveled the section Thursday and found that the road had washed out entirely around a 6 foot diameter culvert. Due to the washout, assessments will have to be made by foot once conditions permit and as a result there is no estimate on a reopening date or when repairs will be made. Last fall, this same road had 8 culverts washout following a severe thunderstorm on September 23rd that dumped over 2.5 inches of rain in a short period of time. Temporary repairs were made at that time. For more information, visit
www.nps.gov/dino
.
