PHOENIX – Travelers along US 60 between Globe and Show Low will once again have a place to stop and rest by this fall. The Arizona Department of Transportation is renovating the Salt River Canyon rest area, which has been closed for the past several years.

The project will include restroom building renovations, replacement of the composting toilet system, water well work, new parking lot pavement and new signage.

Construction work should not interfere with traffic on US 60 through the Salt River Canyon, but the work zone will be signed and drivers are advised to proceed through the area with caution.

The Salt River Canyon rest area has been closed for the last several years due to extensive repair needs for which there was no funding. In 2011, ADOT started a $17.4 million rest area rehabilitation program that prioritized rest area repair projects and began to include them in ADOT’s Five-Year Transportation Facilities Construction Program. With funding now available, the Salt River Canyon rest area is receiving the upgrades it needs.

Sunset Point, Bouse Wash, McGuireville and Hassayampa rest areas have all been refurbished through the rest area rehabilitation program. ADOT will make repairs to 12 remaining rest areas over the next few years.

Once the Salt River Canyon rest area reopens, it will be maintained by Infrastructure Corporation of America, the private entity which manages the operation and maintenance of the rest areas through a public-private partnership with ADOT.