This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Arches National Park, already a popular spring destination, is going to be challenging to visit through much of 2017 due to road construction.

Officials recently warned that park visitors should expect long lines and significant delays to enter the park, especially through Sunday during the annual Easter Jeep Safari based in nearby Moab.

One of the first construction phases involves work along the entrance road to improve drainage near the entrance station and to build a new entry lane and roundabout.

Visitors can help alleviate some of the delays by buying in advance an Interagency Annual Pass and Senior Pass (good for all federal fee areas) at https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html or a park entrance pass (good for seven consecutive days) at https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/79771817.

For future planning, the park's Devils Garden area, including access to all area hiking trails, is tentatively scheduled to be closed April 24 to May 26. The Devils Garden Campground is closed through Nov. 30.

The Fiery Furnace area and hiking route and Salt Valley Overlook are tentatively scheduled to be closed May 30 through June 23.

Other parts of Arches National Park, such as the Windows section, may be closed for up to four weeks sometime later in the year.

Most nights Sunday through Thursday this year, visitors will need to be out of the park no later than 7 p.m. Roads reopen at 7 a.m. The park will be open from 7 a.m. Friday until 7 p.m. Sunday.

Arches will have extended hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 26-30 (Memorial Day), July 3-5 (Independence Day), July 21-25 (Pioneer Day), Sept. 1-5 (Labor Day) and Oct. 18-22 (UEA).

Even with the work at night, limited daytime road closures may occur, with traffic delays of 30 minutes or less in work zones.

The road work includes resurfacing, restoring and rehabilitating about 26 miles of roads and pullouts and is scheduled to last until November.

For travel options other than Arches in the Moab area, visit the Moab Travel Council's website, http://www.discovermoab.com.