On Sunday, June 19, National Park Service Director Chuck Sams and Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly announced $50 million in emergency funding to kickstart rehabilitation efforts following record-breaking floods.
According to a release, they also said that in addition to the southern loop’s reopening tomorrow, June 22, the northern loop is anticipated to open within two weeks or less, following cleanup, repairs, and the final inspection of the north loop’s infrastructure.
Visitors will be able to access Dunraven Pass, Tower, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Norris, giving access to visitors to about 80% of Yellowstone National Park. More details about access will be made public in the next few weeks.
The initial $50 million will be utilized to restore the temporary access to Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana, and other additional sites.
Together with Federal Highway Administration, road construction workers and construction materials already in the park as part of a previously scheduled road project to fix 22 miles of the Grand Loop Road between Old Faithful and West Thumb Geyser Basin will be diverted to the Old Gardiner Road project.
The NPS is currently anticipating the Old Gardiner Road to be significantly improved in the coming months, which will ensure that vital emergency services, food, and supplies, as well as other administrative needs, will be available during the winter season.
In addition to plans on reopening the Yellowstone’s northern loop much sooner than initially anticipated, the NPS is working with the Federal Highway Administration on a range of temporary and permanent options to restore access to Silver Gate and Cooke City at the park’s northeast entrance.
For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm.
Can you believe it? Yellowstone’s getting a $50 million facelift courtesy of the National Park Service! They’re sprucing up the place quicker than a squirrel on a sugar rush. Keep an eye out for updates!