Yellowstone National Park announced four road improvement projects to start this summer, one of which will last until 2024.
The park estimates a $1 billion backlog in deferred maintenance. These four projects will decrease that number by more than $250 million.
Yellowstone released information on the reconstruction of the Yellowstone River Bridge. Information on that project can be found in a recent Scroll article.
The other bridge that will undergo reconstruction this summer is the Lewis River Bridge. Yellowstone advises park visitors to expect 20-minute delays near South Entrance Road. The project should last until fall of 2023.
Workers will remove and rebuild the bridge and add more viewing and parking areas near the bridge. The project will cost an estimated $31 million.
A section of Grand Loop Road, spanning from Old Faithful to West Thumb, will undergo re-pavement this summer. It has been 36 years since the road’s last re-pavement. In a recent press release, Yellowstone mentioned that the road is one of the most heavily traveled in the park.
The project will also add guard rails and additional drainage to the road. The total cost will be around $43 million.
Addressing the damage from Yellowstone’s 2022 floods, the park will replace Northeast Entrance Road this summer. Visitors should prepare for 30-minute delays when traveling through that area of the park this summer. The $25 million project should be done in the fall.
Funding for the improvements to Yellowstone River Bridge, Lewis River Bridge and Grand Loop Road are funded by the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Fund. The GAOA provides $1.3 billion in funding each year for national parks across the United States.
For more information on Yellowstone’s road improvement plan, see the park’s recent press release.
For live updates on Yellowstone road conditions, see the park’s status map.