FR 300 Sitgreaves National Forest

[Nighthiker]

While on my recent camping trip I noted FR 300 was in the best condition that I had observed and I also observed a road grader still working a section west of Woods Canyon Lake. The FR 9350 West of Woods Canyon Lake has also been graded.

[chumley]

In my experience, it is graded twice a year, first each spring around the time of it being opened, and again later in the summer.

It is nice to drive when there are no washboards and potholes, but the first couple of weeks can be a killer if you don't have good tires. The grader turns up all the rocks and many of them are very sharp. It actually takes a fair bit of traffic driving on the road to pack everything down again into a firm roadbed where the sharp rocks get pushed down and are not as much of a hazard on the average passenger vehicle tire. (Good tires should never have a problem either way).

[big_load]

In my experience, it is graded twice a year, first each spring around the time of it being opened, and again later in the summer.

I've seen it being graded in November a couple times, too.

[chumley]

A-S is paving 300 this summer from Woods Canyon Lake to FS 89 (basically Bear Canyon Lake) at a cost of $13 million. It seems that few outside the forest service are happy about this.

Construction will cause delays traveling on this stretch throughout the summer.

https://www.highergov.com/contract/12970223C0048/

[big_load]

That ought to keep things gummed up for quite a while.

[The_Eagle]

@chumley $671,428 per mile sounds reasonable.

[FOTG]

I wonder if it’s a not so subtle way to reduce side by and ORV traffic? They really have kind of taken over that stretch of the 300 based off my last few experiences up there.

I also don’t see how pavement is a better option for logging trucks, or a safer option. Pavement = higher speeds and more traffic. Car meet ups, cruising groups etc. Heavy logging trucks seem to just damage hastily paved forest roads…

[big_load]

Heavy logging trucks seem to just damage hastily paved forest roads…

My first thought on this topic was to wonder whether it might be costlier to maintain the road with pavement than with gravel.

[nonot]

A-S is paving 300 this summer from Woods Canyon Lake to FS 89 (basically Bear Canyon Lake) at a cost of $13 million. It seems that few outside the forest service are happy about this.

Construction will cause delays traveling on this stretch throughout the summer.

https://www.highergov.com/contract/12970223C0048/

Wouldn't this be more accurately characterized as "re-paving"? The eastern 2/3rds of the highlighted paving area was clearly paved in the past to anyone that drove it and has been degrading over the past decade. I'm less sure about the western 1/3rd of the planned pavement area.

Edit: My memory (which may not be correct) seems to recall the western 1/3rd of the road section was gravel but was always horribly washboarded, and as such, pavement would be a definite improvement of that section.

[chumley]

@nonot FR300 is currently paved from SR 260 to the Woods Canyon Lake turn (FS 105), a distance of 3.25 miles.
The paving this summer will extend the paved surface from FR 105 to FR 89, a distance of 9.3 miles.

I don't recall when the original 3+ miles were paved, but it's been over a decade. I do recall a time years ago when driving that stretch was unpaved as well.

The only REpaving occurring is on FR 105 from the 300 to Woods Canyon Lake (not mentioned here, but a project that was started late last year and continues this summer).

There is no doubt that this stretch of road receives ample use during the summer season. It was graded several times a year in recent times, and it was a rare visit that I didn't see a grader (permanently?) based at the intersection of FR 300 and FR 34, which is about the halfway point in this paving project. Nonetheless, the washboarding could be brutal.

One benefit of paving here will be dust mitigation which was terrible there except after rains.

The justification doesn't pass the "smell test" for me. No public comment, no competition contract, no environmental study (which is somehow required by Tonto NF to pave SR 88 in the Superstitions). And the excuse that the 4FRI logging operations are driving the decision is laughably contradictory to Coconino next door where they seem to be doing just fine with a much narrower and more curvy stretch of the same road. But I digress...

[big_load]

I don't recall when the original 3+ miles were paved, but it's been over a decade. I do recall a time years ago when driving that stretch was unpaved as well.

Yeah, it seems like yesterday when none of it was paved.

[nonot]

@nonot FR300 is currently paved from SR 260 to the Woods Canyon Lake turn (FS 105), a distance of 3.25 miles.
The paving this summer will extend the paved surface from FR 105 to FR 89, a distance of 9.3 miles.

I don't recall when the original 3+ miles were paved, but it's been over a decade. I do recall a time years ago when driving that stretch was unpaved as well.

The only REpaving occurring is on FR 105 from the 300 to Woods Canyon Lake (not mentioned here, but a project that was started late last year and continues this summer).

...

The justification doesn't pass the "smell test" for me. No public comment, no competition contract, no environmental study (which is somehow required by Tonto NF to pave SR 88 in the Superstitions). And the excuse that the 4FRI logging operations are driving the decision is laughably contradictory to Coconino next door where they seem to be doing just fine with a much narrower and more curvy stretch of the same road. But I digress...

From what I remember, the first 3 miles (87 to Woods Canyon Lake) is fairly freshly re-paved (last few years, maybe 2022?), the next 3 miles (WCL to FR34) was clearly paved in the distant past, almost like they paved it 15 years ago, but then stopped maintaining it as a paved road and started maintaining it as a gravel road over a very firmly packed base ...kind of similar to the way major sections of highway 288 used to be until about 2 years ago. The last 3 miles I would agree is probably being newly paved for the first time...maybe my memory is wrong, but I drove that section of road quite a number of times.

Your concerns about lack of competitive bids, and lack of study do seem troubling and could hint at corruption. If you do investigate you could file a freedom of information act request to see if that did occur and just wasn't publicized? Investigator Chums on the case!

However, I find it hard to argue with the basic premise that the section of road was not holding up to the amount of traffic and would agree paving it is an improvement that is necessary given its increased popularity and traffic load. Maybe you simply have had a different experience than I, as I've seen a lot of your triplogs to that area occurred much earlier into Spring than I ever visited and probably had better road conditions compared to summertime visitors?

[chumley]

Investigator Chums on the case!

yeah. i don't care that much. lol

I do believe that the first 3 miles was resurfaced in the past few years to improve the original paving which had deteriorated quite a bit. That's what's happening on 105 right now.

I don't recall anything west of 105 having ever been paved, but I only first started driving there in the late 90s. This thread started in 2013 and the OP discusses that stretch being newly graded dirt, for whatever that's worth.

At the end of this project there will only be 5.5 miles remaining to the Coco boundary that will be unpaved. Perhaps ASNF will figure out how to plow that nicely paved road for winter access? Or hire a second LEO to patrol this area (somebody who works weekends!!!? ) and maybe some additional rangers or other personnel to actually help manage the area?