Death Valley celebrates reopening of Jubilee Pass

Death Valley National Park celebrated the reopening of Jubilee Pass, the last section of Badwater Road, at a Jubilation event Friday.

The event was attended by about 40 people and celebrated the park being reconnected with Shoshone, California.

Mike Reynolds, superintendent of Death Valley National Park, opened up the event, expressing the importance of the roadway being the gateway of Shoshone and Inyo County to park visitors.

Badwater Road was among several areas heavily damaged by flash flooding in October, which caused an estimated $31 million in damages.

Reynolds said many drivers were frustrated while traveling through the park, especially during spring’s wildflower superbloom when they encountered the closed road.

The Federal Highway Administration funded around $2 million for repairs for Badwater Road, including the Jubilee Pass section, according to Reynolds.

Like all roads in Death Valley, Badwater Road is susceptible to damage by flash floods. At one point last October, over 1,000 miles of road in the park were closed due to flood damage.

Sections of roads that are near washes are especially vulnerable to flood damage. October’s storm destroyed about a half-mile of pavement and underlying road base over a span of 10 miles in the wash near Jubilee Pass.

Park Ranger Carrie Jordan told attendees of the road’s history, starting with a miner named Chester Pray, who started building the road in 1913 to transport mining ore out of southern Death Valley to the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad.

Pray was found dead just outside the construction camp and his death was ruled a suicide. Before his death, construction had reached the summit of Badwater Road’s western pass, which became known as Suicide Pass. The area has since been renamed Jubilee Pass.

Construction on Badwater Road continued under the direction of Pray’s business partner, Jack Salsberry. The the eastern pass of the roadway bears his name to this day.

It took a 10-man crew six months to construct a 40-mile-long road over two passes. They worked in the sweltering summer, just like this year’s crew did repairing Jubilee Pass.

August 12’s “Jubilee Pass Jubilation” concluded with a ceremonial ribbon cutting by NPS, Furnace Creek Resort staff and Inyo County District 5 Supervisor Matt Kingsley.

Then park visitors and various staff members enjoyed juice and doughnuts provided by Death Valley Natural History Association.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.