Yellowstone receives $22M in federal grant for road improvement

Funds will be used to renovate section of road between Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs

EBS STAFF

On Tuesday, the Federal Highway Administration announced a $22 million grant to the National Park Service to modernize a section of road in Yellowstone National Park. 

The 0.7-mile section of road is located near Rustic Falls between Norris and Golden Gate, near the park’s North Entrance at Mammoth Hot Springs. According to a June 18 press release from the park, the road is a critical transportation link between Yellowstone’s major destinations and surrounding communities. The project will “significantly improve the exceptionally difficult and challenging” road, alleviating rockfall hazards, separating pedestrians from traffic, and upgrading parking areas and vehicle pullouts. 

“From helping us reopen the park after the major flood in 2022, to helping us complete hundreds of millions of dollars in new infrastructure investments across Yellowstone, the Federal Highway Administration continues to be a critical partner,” Cam Sholly, YNP superintendent, stated in the release. 

“Good transportation elements are key to experiencing the great outdoors at Yellowstone National Park,” stated U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The grant for the National Park Service will make travel there more convenient for tourists, residents, workers and local businesses.”

The grant came from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Federal Highway Administration also funded four similar projects for a total of $88.2 million as part of the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Projects Program. 

“This partnership is helping to make visits to Yellowstone and the 428 other national parks across the country safer, more enjoyable, and convenient for years to come,” stated Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. We’re thrilled to be working with the National Park Service to improve access to and from this national treasure by providing a safer, more modern and reliable travel experience.”

The release emphasized the economic impact of Yellowstone: in 2021, nearly five million people visited the park and spent more than $630 million in communities near the park, according to NPS data. The activity supported roughly 8,740 jobs. 

“As we continue to experience record visitation at public lands across the country, now is the time to make the investments that are long overdue,” stated Joan Mooney, representing the U.S. Department of the Interior. “Through the President’s Investing in America agenda we continue to address critical infrastructure needs in some of the Country’s most iconic public lands.”