Several Yellowstone Entrances Open for Free on Sunday and Monday
Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, and Old Gardiner Road is open for free to regular visitor traffic on Oct. 30 and 31.
The park also announced in a press release that contractors completed striping on Oct. 29 for repairs that have been ongoing for the past several months.
Superintendent Cam Sholly said in the release:
"We’re pleased to be reopening the North Entrance and reconnecting Yellowstone to Gardiner, Montana," Sholly said. "We want to thank the outstanding support and work of the Federal Highway Administration and HK Contractors, INC for getting this road built in just four months."
The park began focusing on rebuilding Old Gardiner Road, the best and only option to quickly reconnect Yellowstone National Park to Gardiner, after the historic flooding that took place in June damaged roads in the north of the park.
The repairs to Old Gardiner Road include various additions, including turning the road from a one-lane to a two-lane road, paving and striping the whole road, installing over 5,000 feet of guardrail, making the road wider, creating new pullouts, and building a new quarter-mile approach road into Mammoth Hot Springs.
The park announced last week that it was closing several entrances in anticipation of the winter season, however, the North and Northeast entrances remain open year-round following repairs.
Timothy Hess, Federal Highway Association (FHWA) Associate Administrator of Federal Lands, said in the release:
"It’s thanks to the strong partnership between Yellowstone National Park, the Western Federal Lands Division of the Federal Highway Administration, and the Intermountain Region of the National Park Service that we were able to rapidly respond to this event and re-establish access for Yellowstone visitors, employees and gateway communities," Hess said. "The multi-agency response team includes dozens of men and women who have worked tirelessly to plan and execute the repairs needed to open these roads before winter sets in. We’re proud to be part of this effort and will continue to support ongoing work to ensure continued access to one of our nation’s most beloved parks."
This project is being completed with support from the FHWA and funded largely by FHWA and the Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads, which has been used in the past to supplement repairs following national disasters.
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