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The Grand Loop Road between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Geyser Basin will close September 11, 2016 at 10 p.m. for a construction project.
The closure will last until 7 a.m. October 7, 2016.
According to a Yellowstone press release, the closure will be between Willow Flats (just south of Indian Creek Campground) and Roaring Mountain (five miles north of Norris).
Visitors who wish to travel south of Mammoth Hot Springs will have to make a detour east through Tower Junction, then south over Dunraven Pass. Visitors will be able to drive between Canyon and Norris as normal. From the Yellowstone press release:
Road construction is perennial in Yellowstone National Park. In general, park roads have either been recently repaired or reconstructed, or are scheduled for repair or reconstruction. Approximately 80 percent of main park roads (about 185 mi or 295 km) are in a structurally deficient state, with poor quality road bases failing under the weight, speed, and volume of modern traffic for which they were not designed. Harsh winter weather and short construction seasons provide additional challenges.
These needs are now being addressed under a 20-year, $300 million Federal Lands Highway Program for Yellowstone National Park. This road construction is the first year of a three year project to reconstruct the Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris Junction road segment.
A similar construction project on the same stretch of road took place in 2015, starting in July. In that case, the closure was only enforced between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
