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May 3, 2025:
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Repair Flood Damaged South Fork Road and Associated Facilities
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks » Repair Flood Damaged South Fork Road and Associated Facilities » Document List
The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, is proposing to rehabilitate the South Fork Road which was damaged in a debris flow during a series of atmospheric rivers in the winter of 2022-2023. The Southfork Campground was similarly decimated during this debris flow; given the uncertainty of geohazards in the area and a current lack of funding, the NPS does not have plans to rehabilitate the campground at this time.
Proposed repairs consist of stabilizing the road surface; appropriately accommodating drainage along the road corridor; road reconditioning by scarifying, regrading, and compacting the roadway surface; and finally adding and compacting an aggregate surface. Stabilization and drainage repairs include constructing special rock embankments along slope failures, installing one gabion wall and one mechanically stabilized earth wall, and installing one low water crossing with three culverts at grade. Work will utilize the entrance to the old campground as a staging and laydown for equipment and material and will ultimately repurpose the area for visitor parking. Specifically, the debris flow within the old campground will be cleared and set aside for use in road repair. The area will then be graded and used as a materials lay-down and turn-around for equipment. Five to six trees- -all under two feet in diameter- -would be removed to allow sufficient space for turnaround and to accommodate future planned use. At the completion of road repairs, the laydown area will be left in a condition suitable for visitor parking and allow for future parking improvements described further below.
The existing vault toilet in the old campground will be retained in its current location and will accommodate visitor use immediately after construction. Future improvements to trailhead parking may include relocating the existing kiosks and trash containers, constructing several dry stack retaining walls to retain steep slopes, and formal delineation of parking spaces, including vehicles with trailers to accommodate stock access consistent with the General Management Plan for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (2007). Gravel aggregate may be added to parking surface as needed, and the existing road alignment that extends beyond the old campground will serve as the connection between the parking area and the Garfield and Ladybug trails.
Construction work may begin as early as October 2025 and is anticipated to take six to nine months to complete.
Given that portions of the South Fork Road are within the 100-year floodplain, the NPS developed a Floodplain Statement of Findings (FSOF), consistent with NPS policy, which can be found under "project documents" and will be available for public review through May 3, 2025.
Comments on the FSOF may be submitted via this website by navigating to the document list on the left hand side of this page, opening the document folder, and clicking "comment now" or via mail to:
SEKI Superintendent
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
ATTN: South Fork Road FSOF
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271
559.565.3102
Proposed repairs consist of stabilizing the road surface; appropriately accommodating drainage along the road corridor; road reconditioning by scarifying, regrading, and compacting the roadway surface; and finally adding and compacting an aggregate surface. Stabilization and drainage repairs include constructing special rock embankments along slope failures, installing one gabion wall and one mechanically stabilized earth wall, and installing one low water crossing with three culverts at grade. Work will utilize the entrance to the old campground as a staging and laydown for equipment and material and will ultimately repurpose the area for visitor parking. Specifically, the debris flow within the old campground will be cleared and set aside for use in road repair. The area will then be graded and used as a materials lay-down and turn-around for equipment. Five to six trees- -all under two feet in diameter- -would be removed to allow sufficient space for turnaround and to accommodate future planned use. At the completion of road repairs, the laydown area will be left in a condition suitable for visitor parking and allow for future parking improvements described further below.
The existing vault toilet in the old campground will be retained in its current location and will accommodate visitor use immediately after construction. Future improvements to trailhead parking may include relocating the existing kiosks and trash containers, constructing several dry stack retaining walls to retain steep slopes, and formal delineation of parking spaces, including vehicles with trailers to accommodate stock access consistent with the General Management Plan for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (2007). Gravel aggregate may be added to parking surface as needed, and the existing road alignment that extends beyond the old campground will serve as the connection between the parking area and the Garfield and Ladybug trails.
Construction work may begin as early as October 2025 and is anticipated to take six to nine months to complete.
Given that portions of the South Fork Road are within the 100-year floodplain, the NPS developed a Floodplain Statement of Findings (FSOF), consistent with NPS policy, which can be found under "project documents" and will be available for public review through May 3, 2025.
Comments on the FSOF may be submitted via this website by navigating to the document list on the left hand side of this page, opening the document folder, and clicking "comment now" or via mail to:
SEKI Superintendent
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
ATTN: South Fork Road FSOF
47050 Generals Highway
Three Rivers, CA 93271
Contact Information
Elly Boerke559.565.3102