National Park Visitors Must Pack Their Patience for Traffic Jams

Stuck in a long line of vehicles near a construction site, Darby Long took the delay in stride this hot August day. He reclined in his SUV, dangled a foot out of a window and tried to catch a short nap.

“For me, this hasn’t been a big deal,” said a slightly disheveled Long, of Charleston, S.C. “There are worse places to be stuck.”

It may be the splendor and natural beauty that attract travelers like Long to Yellowstone and other national parks each summer. But it’s the road construction, subsequent traffic delays and long lines that often keep them in one place longer than anticipated. Summer construction is a fact of life for many national parks and an inconvenience not all travelers take as well as Long.

But the National Park Service and some of the “gateway” towns near park entrances are trying to make the necessary construction a bit more bearable, using tools like the Internet and e-mail, and old-fashioned methods like fliers and word of mouth to keep travelers aware of work and delays and to keep frustration levels low.

Employees like Christopher Rast in Yellowstone distribute road information fliers with maps at park entrances. Local business and tourism officials send faxes and e-mails to motor clubs and other contacts. And park concession workers provide information in park lodges and in confirmations sent in advance to visitors who’ve booked stays.

The idea, officials said, is to keep visitors as well informed as possible about the work that must be done within a relatively limited time -- winter comes early and stays late in Yellowstone -- helping ease any frustration that they may otherwise have at seeing a stop sign and line of cars forming.

Besides Yellowstone, where three large road construction projects are underway, work has begun on what’s expected to be the largest overhaul in decades on the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.

In Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, crews are in the first of a planned two-year, $5-million project for 17 miles of major road improvement. Work has also begun on a stretch of the scenic Beartooth Highway, near Yellowstone’s least-visited northeast gate and the town of Cooke City, Mont.

Roadwork is typically undertaken each summer in the park, with this year not dramatically different from years past, Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said. Having three projects underway in relatively close proximity, though, may make it seem to travelers that there’s more going on than usual, he said.

One of the potential headaches for visitors in Yellowstone this year is on Sylvan Pass, near the park’s eastern entrance. It is where Long ended up lounging for nearly half an hour on his way to find a hiking trail.

The pass is a winding stretch of road offering beautiful scenery but potentially dangerous conditions; parts of the road have no guardrails and steep drop-offs. It was along this stretch in july that a mudslide buried a portion of the road, trapping tourists and closing the east entrance for several days. The cost of the pass project is about $26 million, Nash said.

In Cody, about 50 miles east of the park, visitors can find out at the local Chamber of Commerce or businesses what to expect in the way of roadwork or delays. Signs nearing the park also alert travelers of the work ahead.

Gene Bryan, executive director of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce, said a common complaint from tourists about the work on Sylvan Pass was that the road closed early and some visitors could not make it to their evening destinations.

That stretch of road has been closing at 8 p.m., and access will be even more limited after Labor Day, the unofficial end of the summer travel season.

“Some folks get caught up in the excitement of Yellowstone and forget to get out” before the road closes, Bryan said.

Nash said park officials were mindful of the visitor experience. About 3 million people visit Yellowstone each year, and experiencing delays for construction is not what many expect to encounter.

“For a lot of visitors, a lot of their experience at Yellowstone is traveling the roads,” Nash said. “And we need to be sensitive to keep that experience as much as other visitors had earlier.”

Dunraven Pass, another popular route in Yellowstone, is closed and probably will be until next year as a nearly 10-mile stretch of road undergoes its first major rebuild in decades, Nash said.

Completion of the total project depends largely on the availability of funding, he said, adding that the current phase will cost about $10 million.

Work is also set to begin next year on the first phase of a 38-mile reconstruction project expected to last seven years and delay traffic along Togwotee Pass, another Wyoming route leading toward Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Lisa Murphy, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said a key part of that project would be keeping the public informed. A marketing firm will focus on getting travelers information and keeping them coming through towns such as Dubois, Riverton, Lander and Jackson, she said.

Workers in local businesses will be trained and provided with the latest information, and an official hired by the department will handle day-to-day information, such as how long delays will be.

The idea, she said, is to communicate with one voice -- and minimize the effect of the work on towns that look to the tourist trade.

“We want people to know that they’re still open for business up there,” Murphy said.

To inform visitors about road construction and other happenings, park, business and tourism officials use a variety of methods.

Last month, tourists clicking onto Wyoming Travel & Tourism’s website were able to link to a Park Service site and get the latest on the days-long closure of Yellowstone’s east entrance because of the mudslide, officials said.

Bryan said the mudslide was the kind of event that could hurt tourist numbers.

But even with the mudslide, business this year has been good for Jon Sowerine, whose interests include a convenience store, restaurant and furniture store at Wapiti, between Cody and Yellowstone.

“It’s been a consistent year,” he said. “That’s all anyone can ask for out here.”

Officials at both Yellowstone and Grand Teton said contractors were told to limit delays to no more than half an hour, and seem to have held to that.

“I know that because we haven’t been flooded with complaints,” Grand Teton spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo said.

Back in Yellowstone, near Sylvan Pass, there weren’t many complaints one recent day as travelers waited near a construction site. A young woman with a stop sign informed motorists that it was a good opportunity for them to get out of their vehicles and stretch their legs.

Some took photos or chatted with strangers; a motorcycle rider opted to flirt with the young flagger.

Andy Leach and Dana Weniger, who were traveling to Seattle, found some shade along the side of the road and set out a picnic lunch of sandwiches and cookies. At another delay, Frank Pyle of Logan, Utah, used the time to check out the climbing gear stowed in the back of his vehicle for a trip in Grand Teton.

The wait is a little frustrating now, he said. “But it will be worth it when this is all done.”