Cover Story

Skywalk to benefit from road improvements

Thursday, July 12, 2007 2:26 PM PDT

Suzanne Adams

Kingman Daily Miner

GRAND CANYON WEST - It may no longer be a long and dusty trail for tourists to the Grand Canyon West. Road crews started working Wednesday on temporarily smoothing Diamond Bar Road for the caravans of tourists making their pilgrimage to the new Skywalk.

According to a news release from the Grand Canyon Resort, the temporary improvements to the road include adding four inches of gravel and testing two soil stabilizers. The idea is to reduce dust, lessen travel time and provide a more car-friendly surface for tourists.

“The road will eventually be paved, but until then we are working in conjunction with Mohave County to make it easier for our visitors to drive to Grand Canyon West,” said Sheri Yellowhawk, CEO of Grand Canyon Resort Corporation.

“There's been a tremendous amount of traffic on that road,” said Mike Hendrix, Mohave County Public Works director. “We've counted an average of 1,400 trips per day and that's tour buses and other heavy vehicles.”