Yellowstone roads closed!

[cptqueeg]

Got notice this morning that we should not show up for camping this Wednesday 6/15. Rain on snow event caused roads to blow out.

[agesilaus]

Not until Oct 15th and the snow was flying on us 30 Sep last year. We were chased by a Blizzard east.

[valhalla360]

A kudos to the NPS...

Looks like the north and northeast entrances will be open to the public by this fall. We should be there in a week.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/220613.htm?utm_source=RPI&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Guest-Prospect&utm_campaign=YNP_TrigOp_PreArrival_7daySummer_Guest-Prospect

[agesilaus]

Both Loops are now open and the have suspended the odd/even tag entry for the time being. Not sure about Lamar valley road but NE entrance is still shut down. Beartooth highway open to the ski area about 23 miles. Gardiner entrance won't be open this year and maybe not for a long time.

[cptqueeg]

BarabooBob wrote:
They did some very fast combat style engineering to get those roads opened asap. It is surprising how fast a temporary fix can be accomplished. It will take years for permanent repairs and improvements to be completed. Now is the time to do the improvements that have been needed for the last 40 years or more.

Now is the time to rethink roads in river bottoms. These 500 year events will be relatively commonplace going forward.

[BarabooBob]

They did some very fast combat style engineering to get those roads opened asap. It is surprising how fast a temporary fix can be accomplished. It will take years for permanent repairs and improvements to be completed. Now is the time to do the improvements that have been needed for the last 40 years or more.

[valhalla360]

For those saying the north access won't be open for years:

https://www.kbzk.com/news/montana-news/temporary-paved-road-will-be-in-place-at-north-entrance-to-yellowstone-national-park-before-winter

[agesilaus]

Red Lodge has more than some flooding Bridge out, highway thru town under a foot or two of fast moving water

[valhalla360]

PButler96 wrote:
2 to 3 months? Ever been involved in building one? You would ne lucky to pop in a two lane precast box culvert in 2=3 months that carries a 3' wide brook. Actually you would not have all the required parts and pieces in 2=3 months if you already had the design and permitting, which usually takes a year or longer, typically a lot longer than that. You have to have a study done on the impact to the hairy chested nutscratcher. Then you have all the other bureaucratic red tape and all the union deals that have to be made with gubmints involved.

Yes been involved with a few high load hits that required the bridge to be replaced immediately and it's amazing what can be done if all bets are off.

Permitting, public input, etc...all can be tossed aside if it's an emergency.

There will be a premium payment to get it done fast but yes, it can be done.

Now, I wouldn't be surprised if it takes until middle of next summer as the NP service is slower moving but this is also the crown jewel of the system, so having politicians step in and tell them to get it done, is a real possibility.

PS: This is referring to critical routes so they can get the park largely back open. A bridge on a minor side route probably won't get the same attention.

[bobsallyh]

Just remember all Constuction in YNP is weather related. Very short season for most projects. H & K Contruction in Idaho Falls must be rubbing their hands together.

[JKJavelin]

We are in the Headwaters campground just outside the south entrance right now, been here almost a week. It sounds like they expect the northern section of the Park to be closed for the entire season, and the southern portions at least the rest of this week. It sounds like they're waiting for the possibility of more rain this weekend. They are still assessing the damage.
YouTube channel Park Junkie works in the Park and is posting new videos inside the park.
JK
PS... They will also go to a timed entry system to handle many tourists visiting the smaller park area.

[agesilaus]

Construction can go faster, they fixed that bridge over the Mississippi in Minnesota IIRC in record time with incentives for early completion. That was when both government and the contractors were highly motivated tho. And before the B-economy. No way will the NPS move that fast and they probably don't have a pot of money sitting around to fund it. Plus there are all those permits, archaeological permits, ecological permits, historical permits and the list goes on.

[PButler96]

valhalla360 wrote:

afidel wrote:
It'll depend on what bridges were taken out, Yellowstone River bridge was slated to take 3 years to replace and that was with funding secured and a contractor lined up. I hope no major bridges were taken out but the flooding is the worst on record, beating the 1918 flood by many feet on several gauges. Seeing the Carbella Bridge washed away gives some idea of the conditions being faced in the area.

Long construction times are typically related to maintenance of traffic. If you have to keep traffic flowing, you have to do things in multiple stages and spend a ton of time on stuff that isn't actually rebuilding.

Let the contractor shut everything down completely and a bridge replacement can be 2-3 months.

In an emergency, there are ways around the normal approval rules.

This summer may have significant access limitations but I'd be willing to bet by spring/summer 2023, all the main roads are back open.

2 to 3 months? Ever been involved in building one? You would ne lucky to pop in a two lane precast box culvert in 2=3 months that carries a 3' wide brook. Actually you would not have all the required parts and pieces in 2=3 months if you already had the design and permitting, which usually takes a year or longer, typically a lot longer than that. You have to have a study done on the impact to the hairy chested nutscratcher. Then you have all the other bureaucratic red tape and all the union deals that have to be made with gubmints involved.

We are 9 weeks behind schedule on floor pours for a certain internet retailers distribution center who will remain nameless, because we can't get concrete timely. No shortage of cement, aggregate, and water. It's a shortage of truck drivers. So much so we looked into setting up a portable plant but even with money being no object per Jeff, that can not be pulled together at present in any sort of reasonable time, so we wait.

Bridges in 2-3 months? Come on man.

[afidel]

I would complain about how moving the road would lose access to the hot baths, but based on the erosion they likely don't exist anymore anyways.

[agesilaus]

Lots of info here
That's the Long Long Honeymoon site, lots of info for incoming campers/visitors. Websites, phones etc.
They are giving out some bad advice suggesting Glacier as an alternative when that park is so overloaded already that they have started access control like Yosemite.
Gardiner highway from Gardiner entrance to Mammoth is kaput. That;s the washed out road all the videos are showing. Gardiner looks to be in terrible shape. Livingston may be flooded. West Yellowstone and Jackson seem to be OK.
My guess, the Gardiner entrance is kaput for years. Hopefully they will rebuild the highway in a better location. It was very twisty and followed the river closely.
Probably the east entrance from Cody, the west entrance at West Yellowstone and the southern entrances at Jackson's Hole via the Tetons will probably reopen in weeks or months. Geyser basins seem to be OK.
No report on the Lamar valley, there is another branch of the Yellowstone running thru is with so very low land but few structures, roads or campgrounds.
Beartooth highway? Red Lodge of all places may have seen some flooding. That entrance is NOT RV friendly
Grand Tetons will probably be overwhelmed this summer.
More rain/snow forecast for the coming weekend

[bobsallyh]

Another thing to remember is the warehousing, the supplying of the stores and fuel stations, restaurants etc. all within park boundaries.