YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — More than a year behind schedule, Yellowstone National Park has finally presented its proposal for a new permanent north entrance road to replace the temporary route built after the devastating 2022 floods.
After more than a year of delays, Yellowstone has finally unveiled its plan for a permanent north entrance road
The current road connecting Gardiner to Mammoth was constructed hastily following the historic flooding and was only designed to last five to 10 years. Now park officials are weighing several alternatives for a long-term solution.
"Boy, those curves are kind of spooky, and we get some ice on there that's pretty scary," said Aishia Mills, owner of Walking Shadow Ecology Tours, describing the challenging conditions on the current route.
Park Superintendent Cam Sholly outlined the options, which include new pullouts, wider road curves and restoring the canyon to its natural state.
The alternatives range from simply maintaining the current temporary road to completely re-engineering it to better standards. However, that option comes with significant drawbacks.
"Construction window would likely be five to seven years with 30-minute traffic delays," Sholly said.
Another possibility involves rebuilding the old road through Gardiner Canyon, but that option is extremely expensive and would require a 1,000-foot protective shed to guard against continuing landslides. Even then, it may never be completely safe.
Instead, the park is recommending a new road that would incorporate some portions of the canyon road that washed out in the floods.
"So using the upper portion that we have now and then trying to take it out of those curves on the lower portion, I think, is probably going to make the most sense," Mills said.
The timeline for completion extends well into the future.
"So we're looking likely 20-30 before we have a brand new North entrance road. We have the money," Sholly said.
The superintendent noted that using the temporary road during new construction provides valuable time for proper planning. The quick-build route has exceeded expectations despite its rapid construction timeline.
"That road is done better than we thought. It's outperformed our expectations considering how quickly it was built," Sholly said.
The announcement comes at least a year later than originally planned due to extensive geotechnical work that took longer than anticipated.
"We want to take our time, which we have, and make sure that we do this right," Sholly said.
With climate change increasing the likelihood of future extreme weather events, park officials want to ensure the new road can withstand similar flooding threats.
Two public meetings are scheduled to present the plan. A virtual meeting begins at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, with details available on the park's website. An in-person meeting is set for the same day at 4 p.m. at Yellowstone Forever in Gardiner.
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