Post by Poor Richard on Mar 25, 2023 21:03:58 GMT -7
YNP receives $118M to replace aging Yellowstone River Bridge
The Livingston Enterprise reports "Yellowstone National Park has received $118 million in federal funding to replace an aging bridge in the northern part of the park.
The park announced the funding, which is disbursed through the Great American Outdoors Act, in a press release Thursday afternoon.
The $118 million will fund a construction contract to replace the Yellowstone River Bridge on the Northeast Entrance Road near Tower Junction.
In a press release, Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said the Yellowstone River Bridge has been one of the park’s highest priorities for deferred maintenance.
The new bridge will improve visitor safety, and ensure year-round access to Silver Gate and Cooke City. The park first announced its intent to replace the bridge in 2020, after an environmental assessment was completed.
The new 175-foot-high steel girder bridge will be built upstream of the existing bridge, which was built in 1963. The new bridge will be 1,285 feet long, according to the park.
The money will also partially fund paving a new 1-mile road segment to line up with the new bridge, new pullouts, paved parking areas, and a pedestrian path across the bridge, and enlarge the Yellowstone River Picnic Area, the park said.
Once complete, the existing road segment and bridge will be removed and the area rehabilitated. That includes re-establishing wetlands bisected by the existing road and restoring the Lost Creek drainage to its original alignment, according to the park.
The project is slated to begin this summer and will take about three years to complete. Car traffic will continue through the existing bridge during construction.
The Federal Highway Administration awarded the construction contract to HK Contractors, INC of Idaho Falls, according to the park.
The project will help defray the park’s deferred maintenance and repair needs by about $39 million. In 2022, Yellowstone reported an estimated $1 billion in deferred maintenance and repair needs, more than half of which is related to park roads.
Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in the summer of 2020. The law directed billions toward deferred maintenance needs on public lands through the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund.
National Parks are slated to get $1.3 billion per year for five years to make enhancements and repairs.
“We are grateful for the bipartisan GAOA support that is providing funding necessary to complete large-scale infrastructure upgrades in national parks to improve safety and the visitor experience,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in the press release."
The park announced the funding, which is disbursed through the Great American Outdoors Act, in a press release Thursday afternoon.
The $118 million will fund a construction contract to replace the Yellowstone River Bridge on the Northeast Entrance Road near Tower Junction.
In a press release, Park Superintendent Cam Sholly said the Yellowstone River Bridge has been one of the park’s highest priorities for deferred maintenance.
The new bridge will improve visitor safety, and ensure year-round access to Silver Gate and Cooke City. The park first announced its intent to replace the bridge in 2020, after an environmental assessment was completed.
The new 175-foot-high steel girder bridge will be built upstream of the existing bridge, which was built in 1963. The new bridge will be 1,285 feet long, according to the park.
The money will also partially fund paving a new 1-mile road segment to line up with the new bridge, new pullouts, paved parking areas, and a pedestrian path across the bridge, and enlarge the Yellowstone River Picnic Area, the park said.
Once complete, the existing road segment and bridge will be removed and the area rehabilitated. That includes re-establishing wetlands bisected by the existing road and restoring the Lost Creek drainage to its original alignment, according to the park.
The project is slated to begin this summer and will take about three years to complete. Car traffic will continue through the existing bridge during construction.
The Federal Highway Administration awarded the construction contract to HK Contractors, INC of Idaho Falls, according to the park.
The project will help defray the park’s deferred maintenance and repair needs by about $39 million. In 2022, Yellowstone reported an estimated $1 billion in deferred maintenance and repair needs, more than half of which is related to park roads.
Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in the summer of 2020. The law directed billions toward deferred maintenance needs on public lands through the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund.
National Parks are slated to get $1.3 billion per year for five years to make enhancements and repairs.
“We are grateful for the bipartisan GAOA support that is providing funding necessary to complete large-scale infrastructure upgrades in national parks to improve safety and the visitor experience,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in the press release."