The proposed project will improve the existing Sand Flats Road from the Sand Flats Recreation Area (SFRA) entrance station (mile marker 0) to Porcupine Rim TH (mile marker 7) or possibly further. The typical cross section of the improvement segment will consist of a paved 11-foot-wide travel lane and 4-foot-wide paved shoulder in each direction for a total pavement width of 30 feet. In some areas the roadway will deviate from the typical width due to topographical challenges. The improvements contemplate bike lanes, or the potential for a detached multi-use pathway where feasible. Federal and State guidelines recommend paving gravel roads when the daily vehicle counts exceed 200 trips per day. Sand Flats traffic volumes have reached two to five times these recommendations. SFRA receives an average of 225,000 visitors per year, and during peak travel times, the vehicle count on the gravel portion of Sand Flats road averages 800 to 1,000 vehicles per day, according to the BLM traffic counter data from September 2018 - May 2020.
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