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Navajo Route 20 becomes new detour for US 89

Road construction begins this weekend on a new detour for U.S. 89 in northern Arizona. Navajo Route 20 will redirect drivers around US 89, and paving of the dirt road is expected to finish in August. In February, a landslide ripped apart 500 feet of the road on U.S. 89 25 miles south of Page. Ever since, motorists have had to travel more than an hour out of their way on a detour to US 160.

“The landslide was really a freak of nature,” said Dustin Krugel, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Transportation. “We couldn’t have predicted it at all.”

ADOT, along with geo-technicians, wrapped up its investigation of the landslide last month and will now determine what to do about the area.

“We don’t want to put a band-aid on this,” said Krugel. “We want to make sure that whatever we do will be able to last a long time for drivers.”

Krugel said as of now, plans are still being discussed and should be announced soon. Travelling on Navajo Route 20 will shave 30 minutes off the trip to Page.