Rites of Spring: Road Slump in Yellowstone National Park Closes Section of Grand Loop Road
A section of Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road near Canyon has been closed by a slump in the road surface that led to a broken waterline. NPS photo by Jim Peaco.
Springtime in the Rockies is never a particularly easy time. In Yellowstone National Park, the freeze-thaw cycle at this time of year plays havoc with the roads, as evidenced by the slumping of a short section of the Grand Loop Road near Canyon.
The section failed Monday afternoon when thawing caused some subsidence that, in turn, led to the breaking of a water main that serves Canyon Village. The collapse is about a mile south of Canyon Junction, between the road to the Canyon Corrals and south end of the North Rim Drive.
This stretch of road has been an ongoing problem for the park. Several repair jobs in recent years have left the road surface rough and uneven. When the water main broke Monday, the gushing water further undercut the roadbed.
This morning park maintenance crews were at work on the site, excavating an area two lanes wide, 80 feet long, and 8 feet deep to determine how much damage was done to the roadbed and waterline.
Until the road can be fixed -- park officials say the road should be reopened Thursday -- the Grand Loop Road is temporarily closed from south of Canyon Junction to Alum Creek, at the north end of Hayden Valley. Visitors can still travel to Canyon by way of Norris Junction.
Updated Yellowstone National Park road information is available 24 hours a day by calling (307) 344-2117.
Visitor Center
Copyright 2005-2011
National Park Advocates LLC
Follow the Traveler
Recent comments
-
Anonymous (not verified)
on
Keeping Things Quiet In The National...
4 hours 28 min ago
-
Yellowstone Ed (not verified)
on
Major Lodging Changes Coming To...
5 hours 35 min ago
-
Bob Janiskee
on
Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers...
6 hours 24 min ago
-
Saltine (not verified)
on
Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers...
7 hours 5 min ago
-
Anonymous (not verified)
on
Major Lodging Changes Coming To...
7 hours 54 min ago
-
RodF (not verified)
on
National Park Service's Handling...
9 hours 43 min ago
-
tahoma
on
National Park Service's Handling...
13 hours 45 min ago
-
Rick Smith
on
National Park Service's Handling...
14 hours 10 min ago
-
Bob Janiskee
on
Traveler’s Checklist: Hawaii Volcanoes...
15 hours 24 min ago
-
Kent Misegades (not verified)
on
NPS to Package Three Lodges on the Blue...
18 hours 35 min ago



















Comments
Post new comment
All viewpoints, as long as they're constructive, are allowed on the site. But ... the Traveler is not a catchall for viewpoints and discussions that fall outside of the parks or the post at hand. In monitoring comments, we try to restrict those to the topic at hand. Refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.