Local brief
Gila County: SR 260 rock blasting near Star Valley is off for Tuesday, Oct. 13; next closures Oct. 20, 22, 27 and 29
ADOT called off Tuesday's rock blasting on State Route 260 near Star Valley because of the weather. Blasting for the Lion Springs Improvement Project picks back up on Oct. 20, 22, 27 and 29, with closures of up to an hour at a time between 10 a.m. and noon.
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) said on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, that it has canceled the rock blasting planned for Tuesday, Oct. 13, on State Route 260 near Star Valley in Gila County. The reason is the weather.
The blasting is part of ADOT's Lion Springs Improvement Project on SR 260 east of Payson. It is not over. ADOT now has blasting set for four more days: Tuesday, Oct. 20; Thursday, Oct. 22; Tuesday, Oct. 27; and Thursday, Oct. 29.
What drivers should expect on blasting days. Between 10 a.m. and noon, SR 260 will close off and on for up to one hour at a time between roughly Walters Lane and the Gila County Yard, around mileposts 256 to 257. Flaggers and law enforcement officers will direct traffic.
After each blast, crews clear loose rock off the road, so plan for delays of up to an hour. Through the work zone the speed limit drops to 25 mph, and vehicles wider than 14 feet are not allowed.
ADOT said more blasting will be added as the project moves along, and that dates and times can change with the weather or other surprises. If you drive SR 260 between Payson and Star Valley in the late morning, check before you go.
Questions: ADOT Community Relations Project Manager Jason Stephens, 480-751-7104, or the ADOT Bilingual Project Information Line at 855-712-8530. Live road conditions: AZ511 (https://www.az511.gov/), the AZ511 app, or dial 511.
Original source: Arizona Department of Transportation bulletin, "State Route 260 rock blasting operations canceled for Tuesday, Oct. 13," Oct. 12, 2026 (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/AZDOT/bulletins/42ee6f8; https://azdot.gov/). Notice Nearby wrote this brief in its own words.
What to read next: the Gila County hub (https://noticenearby.com/az/gila), the Gila County flash flood warning from Oct. 11 (https://noticenearby.com/briefs/az-gila-flash-flood-warning-2026-10-11), the Arizona hub (https://noticenearby.com/az) and how to get ready for emergencies (https://noticenearby.com/prepare). Local businesses, parks and places nearby are on ZOST.app (https://zost.app).
Notice Nearby is a Public Register listing, not a newspaper, and this page is not Legal Publication. If ADOT's official notices and this note disagree, ADOT wins.
Source: the public notice on this register NN-GOVEMAIL-20261012-ADOT260 · Arizona Department of Transportation.
This is a Notice Nearby local brief — an in-house explainer written from a government-posted notice on this register. It is not official minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication.