Homestead Road Repairs & Closure THIS WEEKEND

Heads up AZ climbers!!

The Access Fund is working with a contractor to make repairs to the first 1/2 mile of the access road into the Homestead. THIS WEEKEND. Work will be focused on repairing the very worse sections of the road down low.

The access road will be CLOSED TO VEHICLES this coming THURSDAY, MARCH 3 through SATURDAY, MARCH 5. Reopening on Sunday.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but these repairs are crucial to make the Homestead accessible to more climbers. Please help the Access Fund spread the word & let Homestead climbers know!

Access Fund - Thank You

Thanks for the work Access Fund! This served as a good reminder to renew my membership. I encourage others to follow suit by becoming members or donating specifically to the Homestead campaign.

Just want to bump this up in the feed.

Help us spread the word!!
Psyched to see this happen

Any chance that somebody part of the team out there can give an update on the road accessibility once work is done? I.E. if they think a 2 wheel drive vehicle can get up that first hill after the work?

It was originally a 2wd road that became the monster we now tread. The road was not designed for such heavy traffic.

I'm hopeful it can be restored to a normal 4x4 road.

Keep in mind, we're headed out there TOMORROW!!!

Please help us spread the word that the road into the Homestead will be closed to vehicles tomorrow (Thursday) through Sunday morning. Climbers will still be able to walk in if they'd like.

We're going to do the best we can with the improvements, possibly "Subaru status" but standard 2 wheel drive is not likely on that steep & loose section.

Will update here once the work is complete!

Ty, thanks so much to you and the rest of the Access Fund for getting this rolling. Much appreciated, personally glad to see my memebership $ going towards something truly valuable to the Southwest climbing community. Cheers!

Hendrixson wrote: Thanks for the work Access Fund! This served as a good reminder to renew my membership. I encourage others to follow suit by becoming members or donating specifically to the Homestead campaign.

Thanks for the reminder John. I re-upped mine this year too!

Just for the record, the AF needs more than a 35$ membership to do all the work they get done. Send more, I did! Thanks in advance!

Road repair update:

The machine wrapped up 2 days of repairs. Jason (pro-bono contractor) crushed it and made a HUGE improvement to the very worst section. Pretty much night & day

Filled in the deep ruts and gullies, reshaped sections and created a flat road bed. Work stretched for about 400ft and had to be stopped right as the road turns back left due to steepness & time. Additionally, two of us headed out today & dig out a few drainages.

Conditions are drastically improved, but all-wheel drive, 4x4 and good clearance are still recommended. PLEASE help us keep the road in the best condition possible by driving in a LOWER gear, avoid spinning your tires and maintain a reasonable speed. 2-wheel drive is NOT advisable and will only shorten the life of repairs.

Its taken years to get the road where it is today, so lets work hard at keeping it that way! Our pro-bono contractor donated his professional time & passed on some paid work to help us out. Lets make his efforts worth it.

Here is a photo posted by the Access Fund Conservation Team. Amazing work!

Homestead Road after Access Fund Conservation Team repairs on 2016-03-06.

4x4 vs 2-wheel drive doesn't matter. What matters is HOW people drive their vehicle through this section. I was there a couple weeks ago and drove my 2-wheel drive Tacoma up as slowly and controlled as possible. I didn't get stuck or loose traction and made it right up with no issues. That same day a lifted decked out new 4x4 jeep drove up "fast to not loose traction". Driving quickly will make you loose traction and tear the road up more. Drive slow and don't spin your tires out. Also, have decent tread on your tires, don't drive up with crap tires.

The main reason the road got to the condition it did was because storm waters were flowing down the road making it a wash instead of crossing the road. If we want this fix to last, then we need to control where the water flows after big storms.

Thank you Access Fund for getting this repair to the road done! I hope we can take the steps necessary to preserve it before the next big storms come.

Good points Red. Your 2WD is also equipped with locking rear differential. Include an excellent driver and you will be helping instead of harming the road.

If I know climbers, that won't work. Too many rebels.

True, unfortunately. I just saw on Facebook that someone tried to get a Honda up and got stuck. Geez.

Just because the worst section has been fixed doesn't mean that just any vehicle can drive up there. You will still need high clearance, good tires, and good driving. Drive low and slow.

Some people The first up the new road

Did you pull them out then scold them Dave?

I was hiking in to check it out the work. I was told the road was closed till Sunday. They were all ready stuck at the crux from the night before. I told them hiking in not to leave the car blocking the road and hiking out after they left it blocking the road . I would have helped but they never asked. Said, there friends did the work on the road...so I thought that made it OK.

More proof that people will be hell bent on beating auto and road to their will. Hopefully they dropped some coin to the AF for the work done on their behalf. Because this will happen again. Maybe we should limit access to AF members only?

Did they put up a sign at the beginning of the road to advise people that may not know better how to drive the road and why it is important? If not, this seems like a cheap and worthwhile thing to do. It may not dissuade some people the first time they see it but they may not return without proper transport.

so would locals say the road is "Subaru status" if you know how to drive? Or do you still need more clearance than that?

Tim Lutz wrote: Great idea! let's make it even better by keeping plates from CA and NM out too!

Thanks for taking the hook.

Many Arizona folks are currently working to payoff the AF for their help in acquiring the land. Donate to your favorite AZ climbing group to keep the funds rolling.

After this road is fixed, there will be more expenses to cover. The AF could use all the help it can get. Everyone has always been welcome.