Caltrans warns Yosemite's Highway 140 entrance, blocked by rockslide, could be closed for weeks
MARIPOSA COUNTY – One of the major roads leading to the entrance of Yosemite National Park is still blocked due to a large rockslide, and officials are warning people that the closure could last weeks.
The rockslide started late Monday night along Highway 140 at Briceburg in Mariposa County.
Debris completely covered both directions of the roadway, leaving it impassable.
Caltrans issued a long-term full closure of Highway 140 from Savage Trading Post in Briceburg to the Yosemite Cedar Lodge in Incline.
This closure also means that people going to and from Yosemite National Park should use either Highway 41 or Highway 120, Caltrans says.
Highway operations crews flew a drone to evaluate the slide. Then, on Thursday, more rocks started to fall when crews were out evaluating the slide, Caltrans says.
More safety inspections are now planned through the weekend before debris removal can begin.
A Caltrans official told CBS News Sacramento that they're hopeful one-way traffic control can be implemented at the very least by the end of March. The closure is expected to last weeks, not months, Caltrans says.
Some residents have raised the question of whether temporary bridges could be installed over the Merced River, like what was done after previous rockslides in the area. However, Caltrans says this plan would not be feasible in the area where this most recent slide happened.
