On Thursday, Yellowstone National Park announced that multiple road projects are slated for the park this summer.
Two of the parks bridges, the Lewis river Bridge and the Yellowstone River Bridge will be replaced. Both areas will get other upgrades to adapt to increased visitor use such as paved parking areas, and improved viewing areas.
The Lewis River Bridge Project will be completed by this fall. The project originally began in 2022. The project will replace the current bridge with a rebuilt structure located directly downstream of the current bridge, according to the park.
In addition to replacing the bridge that the press release describes as “structurally inadequate”, new pullouts, paved parking, and a dedicated path to access trails will also be built. The Yellowstone River Picnic Area will also be enlarged to hold more visitors.
According to the park, hiking trails may be closed during the project.
The new bridge will be built to allow year-round access to the Northeast Entrance and the surrounding areas of Silver Gate and Cooke City, Mont. The bridge will be over twice the length of the current bridge at 1,285 feet long and will be built with a 175-foot-high steel girder system upstream of the current bridge.
Each project is estimated to add a 20 to 30-minute delay in travel.
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Source: CapCityNews
