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Work to begin on flood-damaged road into Death Valley National Park

Repairs will get underway Monday on a highway into Death Valley National Park that was washed out by flooding in October.

Badwater Road is expected to reopen July 14 after almost $2 million worth of work paid for by the Federal Highway Administration.

The route into the southern end of the park from Shoshone, California, 90 miles southwest of Las Vegas, will remain closed until construction is complete.

According to an advisory from the National Park Service, some work may take place at night to avoid extreme summer heat, so area residents should expect to see and hear construction trucks at any hour.

The October storms that washed out several sections of the road near Jubilee Pass also caused millions of dollars in damage elsewhere in the park.

Scotty’s Castle was particularly hard hit . Repairs to the popular tourist attraction at the north end of Death Valley are expected to cost $19 million and keep the site closed at least until 2019.

Work is now underway to connect a temporary water line from a nearby spring to the fire suppression system serving the early 20th century mansion.

Southern California Edison has replaced power poles washed away by what engineers are now calling a “probable maximum flood event.” Repairs to the electrical distribution system at Scotty’s Castle should start soon.

Portions of the water and sewer systems still need to be replaced, as does an 8-mile stretch of road leading to the castle.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.

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