Planning a trip to Sequoia National Park? You’ll want to get an earlier start

If you plan to travel to Sequoia National Park, you might want to start your trip there a little earlier than usual.

Starting Monday, two-hour delays are expected to affect traffic between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m on weekdays due to construction along a stretch of Generals Highway. The Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks report that uphill traffic will be allowed to drive through the construction zone first and downhill traffic will follow during specific times between the lower end of Amphitheater Point Overlook and the upper end Crystal Cave Road.

The park service said drivers should plan to arrive at the construction zone passes by specific times: 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Drivers are advised to arrive about 10 minutes before each scheduled pass.

The delays are a result of the Generals Highway Construction Project in Sequoia National Park, which began in mid-June. The project is reconstructing a segment of Generals Highway.

For weekend traffic to the park, 20-minute delays are expected if the road is reduced to one lane. But if both traffic lanes are open, there will be no delays.

The park service also said that vehicles 22 feet or longer are not allowed to enter between Hospital Rock and Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park. Those drivers should use the Highway 180 entrance to the park because the construction zone has narrowed the highway and longer vehicles cannot be accommodated for safe travel.

The purpose of the Generals Highway construction project is to fix drainage issues that could deteriorate the road, the park service said.

This story was originally published October 14, 2017 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Planning a trip to Sequoia National Park? You’ll want to get an earlier start."