Have an oversized vehicle? You might want to avoid Zion tunnel

The Zion National Park Service has a warning for those passing through the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel: Oversized vehicles will get stuck.

And that’s what happened to a Las Vegas-bound 18-wheeler Monday. The driver was headed west through the tunnel when it got wedged in approximately 600 feet from the tunnel’s exit, according to the park service. The driver was headed from Kanab, Utah, to Las Vegas with an empty trailer to pick up a load bound for Dallas.

Multiple signs warn motorists of the size restrictions and closure of the tunnel, but the driver, new to the area, said his GPS led him to the route. The man followed another vehicle and did not notice the signs.

The man was cited for operating an oversize vehicle in the tunnel without traffic control service, the park service said. The park is investigating potential structural damage done to the historic tunnel.

After 4:30 p.m. in the cold seasons, the tunnel is closed to all vehicles that are over 11 feet 4 inches high or 7 feet 10 inches wide because there is no traffic control service.

Semi-trucks, commercial vehicles, and rigs over 50 feet long are not allowed in the tunnel at all. Vehicles that are not doing business within the park are not allowed to drive through the park because of narrow lanes, wildlife and tight turns at the approach to the the historic tunnel.

The 1.1-mile tunnel was opened in 1930 to make it easier for visitors to reach Zion Canyon from Bryce Canyon or the Grand Canyon. At the time of its completion, it was the longest nonurban road tunnel in the U.S. The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, according to the park service.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.