Tag Archives: Lake Mary Road

Seven-mile stretch of Lake Mary Road (FH-3) to close due to snowstorm

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FLAGSTAFF — The Coconino County Public Works Department will close a seven-mile stretch of Lake Mary Road, also known as Forest Highway-3 (FH-3), at 4 p.m. today, Feb. 20 due to high winds and drifting snow from a large snowstorm that will impact the area starting tonight.

During this closure traffic will detour along the West Side Mormon Lake Road, which loops Mormon Lake and goes through Mormon Lake Village.

The closure will be in effect at the north entrance of Mormon Lake (near the scenic overlook) to the south entrance of Mormon Lake, which is about 35 miles southeast of Flagstaff. This section of Lake Mary Road will remain closed until weather conditions allow for the County to safely reopen the roadway.

The closure is due to high winds and drifting heavy snow caused by wind. When drifting occurs, visibility becomes limited and there is an increased difficulty for snowplow operators to keep the road clear of snow. To ensure the safety of drivers, they will be detoured along the alternate route through Mormon Lake Village.

A Winter Storm Warning from the National Weather Service is in effect from 11 p.m. Wednesday until 5 p.m. on Friday, February 22. Total accumulations from this storm are forecast to be between 13 and 25 inches of snow around 7,000 feet with locally higher amounts approaching three feet of snow in some areas of the County. County Public Works crews will remain deployed to keep County roadways open and passable.

Snowfall during this storm is expected to be heavy and periods of blowing and drifting snow may lead to whiteout conditions with near zero visibility. Heavy snowfall will create dangerous travel conditions during this storm.

For questions about snow removal operations and related road conditions, please contact the following:

Coconino County: For County maintained roads, please call Public Works at 928-679- 8300 during normal business hours (7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.).

Lake Mary Road Reconstruction Project starts next month

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FLAGSTAFF — The contractor for the Federal Highway Administration’s Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFL) will break ground Monday, May, 8 on an $8.2 million renovation project on Lake Mary Road.

Crews have mobilized and are ready to start construction. Electronic message boards are in place on both sides of the project corridor. Work is scheduled during daylight hours, Monday – Saturday. Flaggers, signage and other traffic control measures will be in place and pilot cars will also be used to guide vehicles through the construction zone.

Drivers along Lake Mary Road should expect delays of up to 30 minutes and are encouraged to use extra caution and obey posted speed limits though the construction zone.

The CFL-managed Lake Mary Road Reconstruction Project includes widening five miles of the roadway for multimodal use, which will help the Lake Mary Road Corridor become an international destination for major cycling and triathlon events.

The five miles of widening will be between milepost 312.5 and milepost 317.5. Another two miles of Lake Mary Road between mileposts 310 and 312.5 will be milled and overlaid. In addition, the superstructure and decking of the Willow Valley Creek Bridge at milepost 297.5 will be replaced. The project is expected to be completed this fall, weather permitting.

A key route between Flagstaff and Payson, Lake Mary Road is a vital economic generator. Between 1,200 and 1,300 vehicles travel the road each day. It is also a high-use recreational corridor with access to camping, hiking, hunting fishing, road and mountain biking, cross-country skiing and wildlife watching. In 2015 the U.S. Forest Service estimated that 70 percent of all travel along the road was for recreation including a daily average of 161 bicyclists.

The Lake Mary Road Reconstruction Project is largely funded by a Federal Land Access Program (FLAP) grant that was awarded in April 2013. The County’s portion of the project is being funded by Proposition 403 revenues. CFL awarded the contract for the project to Glendale, AZ-based Stormwater Plans, LLC earlier this month.

Lake Mary Road to fully reopen by noon today

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FLAGSTAFF – Coconino County Public Works crews are clearing a previously closed seven-mile stretch of Lake Mary Road about 35 miles southeast of Flagstaff and the roadway is scheduled to fully reopen by noon.

Lake Mary Road, also known as Forest Highway 3 (FH3), was closed on Thursday, Jan. 19 from the north entrance of Mormon Lake (near the scenic overlook) to the south entrance of Mormon Lake. The closure was implemented in the interest of public safety due to a trio of winter storms that dropped more than three feet of snow in the area and created hazardous driving conditions from blowing snow.

During the closure, traffic on Lake Mary Road was detoured along the West Side Mormon Lake Road which loops Mormon Lake and goes through Mormon Lake Village.

When this section of Lake Mary Road is reopened, motorists are asked to travel with caution as some icy areas may persist. The County thanks the traveling public for their patience during this closure.

Game and Fish seeks information on elk poaching case

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The Arizona Game and Fish Department is seeking the public’s assistance in finding the individual or individuals responsible for illegally killing a cow elk in a poaching incident in northern Arizona.

The poaching may have occurred during the weekend of March 16. Evidence discovered at the scene indicates that the elk was shot twice, with a center fire rifle, from Lake Mary Road near the Narrows, about 12 miles southeast of Flagstaff. The entire animal was left to waste, leaving investigating officers to believe that the suspect(s) may have been scared off by another vehicle, were spotlighting, or just randomly shot the elk from the road.

“We investigate numerous poaching cases throughout the year and rely heavily on the public’s help in catching the people that do this.” says Wildlife Manager, Lee Luedeker. “The weather was really nice that weekend and a lot of people were out, we need information from someone who was in that area. Luedeker adds, “They may have enough information for us to bust the poachers, all it takes is one piece of evidence to break a case.”

Anyone with information regarding this case can call the department’s Operation Game Thief Hotline toll free at (800) 352-0700 or use the online form at www.azgfd.gov/thief. Callers should provide case number 13-000609 when calling. All calls may remain confidential upon request. A reward of up to $1,350 may be available for information leading to the arrest of the violator(s).