Yellowstone National Park is asking for public input on constructing a new permanent North Entrance Road between Gardiner and Mammoth Hot Springs.
Historic flooding in 2022 destroyed the previous permanent road along the Gardner River and closed the North Entrance to the park. The North Entrance finally reopened this October after construction crews paved the Old Gardiner Road, a 19th-century stagecoach route.
Now the National Park Service and Federal Highway Administration want a permanent solution.
Three alternatives are being considered for the permanent road, which will pass through a basin vulnerable to landslides, rockfall, and flooding. The alternatives are: to keep the Old Gardiner Road; rebuild the previous canyon road; or create a new road using portions of each.
The Old Gardiner Road option would widen the current road and amend existing retaining and drainage structures. The rebuild option would rely on extensive structures to weather future climate events like rock slides or flooding. The new road option would have to contend with unstable soils but avoids the canyon and the river’s flood plain and uses existing roads.
The park plans to publish the results of a summer environmental analysis this fall and issue a decision in early 2025.
Yellowstone officials held public meetings on Feb. 12 and 14. Additional public meetings will be held virtually on March 1 and 6. The deadline to submit public comments is March 13.
Register for the meetings and comment online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=115825.