A traffic mess in Moab

[4runnerguy]

Wanted to warn all who are considering a trip to Moab now through next spring that there is a major construction project on US 191 north of town right now. Last week, it took us between 45 minutes and 1 1/2 hours to get from the back of the line just to the bridge at the Colorado River (UT 128). So in a week, I spent almost 10 hours just waiting in traffic. Not exactly a restful vacation.

One family I talked to got to the back of the line about where UT 313 turns off to go up to Dead Horse Point/Island in the Sky. They arrived at the back of the line at 6:00 p.m. and got into Moab at 9:00 p.m. Yep, three hours!

Even going into town in the morning can take an extra 10 or 15 minutes. And northbound out of town in the a.m. can also get backed up clear into the middle of town as people head north to the parks, to jeep, or to mountain bike.

This project is to last until May, 2021.

[theczar]

I just got here to Moab Friday night. Went through town a couple times yesterday and the delay was not more than a couple mins. Construction was in full swing but I guess there are not as many visitors at the moment

[4runnerguy]

So for a few days I've been looking at the UDOT traffic cam at the interestion of US 191 and UT 128 (where US 191 goes over the river). For the last week anyway, it seems traffic in general is lighter so the lines are much less. Not surprising as it is almost November. The week of Thanksgiving might get a little busy, but were definitely into the off season now. I'm guessing things will be OK until early March, when people get tired of being cooped up and head to Moab for some outdoor time.

As for when we were there, coming into Moab on UT 128 in the afternoon was definitely the best choice if coming from the east. One day we even debated turning around and heading up to the interstate and down UT 128 since we were camped on the river. Waited it out as we didn't want gasoline to be an issue.

[paulj]

donkeydew wrote:
...
if 191 is screwed up you can take 128 and follow the Colorado river in to moab. it is a little longer with curves as it follows the river but it is awesome scenery

While the backups may extend north of the Arches turnoff on 191, the actual construction is south of the bridge (where 128 turns off). It's the 2 lane stretch between the bridge and town that they are widening.

[paulj]

UDOT project page

UDOT has a project description. They are expanding 191 from Motel 6 north to the bridge to have 5 lanes plus shoulders. They are also doing storm drain work.

Traffic volumes are above normal and congestion is anticipated particularly in the southbound lanes North of the Colorado River Bridge this week with an influx of tourists. Traffic models shows congestion typically picks up around meal times, and hotel check-in check-out times. It is particularly heavy at dusk. Avoid travel southbound into Moab between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Northbound travel out of Moab typically peaks between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. While there are still single lanes running in each direction as previous to construction, left turns will be limited and disruptive to traffic flow during peak times.

UDOT has some web cams from Arches south through town.

[riltri]

We were there 10-20 until 10-25. We drove up/down 191 thru the construction 6 times at various times of day. Never more than a 15 minute delay. The construction appears to be no where near completion.

[donkeydew]

shft22 wrote:
Can anyone confirm if this issue with traffic on US-191 is an ongoing thing or was it just temporary.
We are picking up an RV in American Fork taking it to Florida in two weeks, our plan was to head south on 191, looking for I40 but if there is construction we may just head east on I70 instead.

if 191 is screwed up you can take 128 and follow the Colorado river in to moab. it is a little longer with curves as it follows the river but it is awesome scenery

[Rice]

dedmiston wrote:

Rice wrote:
In this context, yes. But if someone were asking for opinions on Moab, I would think opinions like this would be germane.

This is Roads & Routes. Nobody asked if he thinks the town is ugly or not.

It sounds like you think I disagree, but I don't. I said in this context, opinions about the town's beauty are better kept to oneself.

[shft22]

I hear you about the snow on I-70, this is why we are thinking of 191 south. We are letting the weather dictate our way out of the mountains, bad weather south we will go east, bad weather east we will go south. I almost want to go south as a primary route, the elevations are much more manageable. Only concern I have about 191 south and then 491 is they seem to go thru some very desolated places, not a lot of help if something goes wrong.

[4runnerguy]

shft22 wrote:
Can anyone confirm if this issue with traffic on US-191 is an ongoing thing or was it just temporary.
We are picking up an RV in American Fork taking it to Florida in two weeks, our plan was to head south on 191, looking for I40 but if there is construction we may just head east on I70 instead.

All I know is it had been going on for the two weeks in the middle of October. I haven't talked to anybody who has gone out there since (a lot of people from Glenwood go out there often - the snow a few days ago means a lot of people will wait until the trails dry out).

I will say that if you avoid going into Moab between 3 and 7 p.m., you should be in good shape. Yes, there will be delays (maybe an extra 5-10 minutes) but it seems the traffic heading back into town after a day of 4x4, hiking, biking, visiting Arches or Canyonlands etc. is what causes the worst problems.

As for taking I-70, if you are thinking about that route keep an eye on the weather. We had a decent snowfall a few days ago (10" on our deck at 5900'). We are firmly into the time when snow on the passes is a distinct possibility. Not necessarily fun with a new RV you're just getting used to.

[shft22]

Can anyone confirm if this issue with traffic on US-191 is an ongoing thing or was it just temporary.
We are picking up an RV in American Fork taking it to Florida in two weeks, our plan was to head south on 191, looking for I40 but if there is construction we may just head east on I70 instead.

[4runnerguy]

Rice wrote:

dedmiston wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
We generally avoid Moab as much as possible anyway, Ugly town

Polite people keep those thoughts to themselves.

In this context, yes. But if someone were asking for opinions on Moab, I would think opinions like this would be germane.

I'm still wondering if the traffic the OP reported might have been related to an event, and not reflective of what it's going to be like there every day from now until the project is finished.

Seems like there's always some event in Moab, but there wasn't any of the big ones like the Easter Jeep Safari or the Car Show. Besides, this was every day all week. We know of three other families who were out in Moab the week before we were and had the same issues. All three bailed and came home early. (Yeah, I'm stubborn and stuck it out - besides we didn't get to camp in Moab all spring) Talking with the locals I know or I met on the trail, they all said they'd never seen any backups like they'd had since the construction started. When I took one of our bikes into a shop in town for repair, he had me wait while he fixed it as he didn't want me to have to come back into town to pick the bike up later.

Will traffic backups get shorter? Sure. As we get into winter visitation drops quite a bit. Cold temps and snowy wet trails tends to keep people away. But unless they change things up with regard to how they are handling the traffic, next spring could be another fiasco. I don't know what their plans are for how detours and lane closures are scheduled, but for those planning a trip out there next March or April, I'd recommend getting some local insight as to whether things have improved or not before heading out.

[dedmiston]

Rice wrote:
In this context, yes. But if someone were asking for opinions on Moab, I would think opinions like this would be germane.

This is Roads & Routes. Nobody asked if he thinks the town is ugly or not. An ugly pothole would be germane though.

[Rice]

dedmiston wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
We generally avoid Moab as much as possible anyway, Ugly town

Polite people keep those thoughts to themselves.

In this context, yes. But if someone were asking for opinions on Moab, I would think opinions like this would be germane.

I'm still wondering if the traffic the OP reported might have been related to an event, and not reflective of what it's going to be like there every day from now until the project is finished.

[dedmiston]

agesilaus wrote:
We generally avoid Moab as much as possible anyway, Ugly town

Polite people keep those thoughts to themselves.