PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has canceled a 48-hour closure that had been scheduled this week on an 11-mile section of State Route 88  west of Theodore Roosevelt Dam.

Paving work along the road, also known as Apache Trail, had been scheduled today, April 8, through Thursday, April 10.

Closures remain scheduled for later this month and into May from the entrance to Apache Lake and just west of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam Overlook.

The 48-hour closures are scheduled from 7 a.m. Tuesdays through 7 a.m. Thursdays on April 15-17, April 29-May 1 and May 6-8,  according to state transportation officials.

A 72-hour closure is scheduled from 7 a.m. Monday, April 21, through 7 a.m. Thursday, April 24.

The closures are taking place as part of an $18 million paving project ADOT is overseeing in coordination with the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Highway Administration. The project began in late 2022.

This Arizona Federal Lands Access Program project includes paving an 11-mile gravel section of the highway and updating drainage features that are not functional or were damaged by flooding. The project will also improve sight lines at several locations, state transportation officials said.

During the closures, access to the Theodore Roosevelt Dam Overlook will remain open via SR 188. 

“SR 88 will be open heading east from the Phoenix area; however, the steep, unpaved section between Fish Creek Vista and Fish Creek Bridge is for use only by high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles and utility terrain vehicles. No trailers are allowed,” an ADOT release stated.