Centennial Sun Road

The Going-to-the-Sun Road promises to be a busy place this summer -- and not just with tourists, mountain goats and bighorn sheep.

With federal stimulus funds in the pipeline, both sides of the highway immediately to the east and west of Logan Pass will see construction. On the west side, crews will continue to work from Big Bend to the pass. On the east side, work will go from the pass to Siyeh Bend.

Motorists can expect delays up to 40 minutes for a one-way trip across the road. The night work schedule has also been tightened. The road will close over the pass for night work from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Hikers, visitors will have to be out of the construction zone prior to that closure.

The park received more than $27.6 million in stimulus funds for the highway. That's in addition to $82 million that's already been appropriated or spent on the road in the past five years. The entire reconstruction project, which runs through 2019, is projected to cost about $200 million, according to figures released by Glacier Park officials.

Construction from Big Bend to Logan Pass should run through 2010 and construction from Siyeh Bend to Logan Pass is expected to run through 2012. Additional funding for the highway beyond 2012 is up to congressional budgets.

Because stimulus dollars have to be dedicated by the end of September 2010, the Park decided to accelerate the Sun Road work schedule to both sides of the Continental Divide, and have longer traffic delays than the usual 30 minutes.

Local businesses said they could survive longer construction delays. The Sun Road is an economic engine to the local economy, generating about $1 million for every day it's open, according to previous studies.