Going-to-the-Sun Road alpine section construction to be completed by end of year
<p>Mike McNally measures a stone while Mike Bercier, left and Zac Stanhope, background of Anderson Masonry work on the Sun Road reconstruction in a section below Rimrocks lin 2010. Expect more work in the high country this year. Since the 1990s, more than $100 million has been spent on the highway, with millions more to go.</p>
Glacier National Park expects construction work on the alpine section of the Going-to-the-Sun Road will be completed by the end of this year - a full year earlier than what park officials projected a month ago.
Crews from HK Construction and Anderson Masonry have been working on the upper reaches of the highway since mid-May. Anderson crews are replacing and reconstructing historic rock walls on the highway, while other crews are working on the roadbed and replacing miles of antiquated guardrail with new timber rails from Haystack Creek to Big Bend.
The alpine rehabilitation includes new pavement from Logan Creek on the west side to Siyeh Bend on the east side. The project includes almost 12,000 feet of new masonry guard wall, as well as retaining-wall and slope-stabilization features. Gutters and culverts to improve drainage are being installed, and much subgrade stabilization is being completed.
Nearly 6,000 feet of new timber guard rail, both fixed and removable, will be installed. The rails were designed to withstand vehicle impacts and are strategically located based on safety and avalanche hazards.
Almost 30 percent of the project's cost and time to date has involved stone masonry work. Stone materials were salvaged from demolition of existing structures and rock found along the road, while small amounts were selectively obtained outside the park. Maintaining the historic character of the Sun Road is a priority of the rehabilitation project.
The end of the alpine reconstruction phase doesn't mean the end of the project, however. Work slated for next year includes sections from Logan Creek to Avalanche Creek on the west and from Siyeh Bend to Rising Sun on the east. Park officials hope to finish construction from Rising Sun to St. Mary by 2015 and from West Glacier to Avalanche Creek by 2016, in time for the National Park's Service's centennial.
To date, about $130 million has been spent on the Sun Road project, including engineering, design and construction management, under the Federal Lands Highway Program and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - commonly referred to as federal stimulus money. About $40 million is still needed to finish the non-alpine sections of the road, bringing the total price tag to $170 million.
Visitors traveling the Sun Road this summer can expect 30-minute maximum traffic delays on the west side and no delays on the east side. Night closures for construction are not expected, but advance notification will be provided in event they occur.
Vehicles will be able to access Logan Pass from the west side through Sept. 16 and from the east side through Oct. 21. This is the last year an early fall closure is expected for the west side due to road work. Early fall closures are expected on the east side through 2015.
The park's free shuttle service began operating July 1 and will run until Sept. 3. The shuttle offers stops from Apgar to St. Mary and the first runs begin at 7 a.m. at Apgar and 7:30 at St. Mary. The last shuttle leaves Logan Pass at 7 p.m.