Glacier maintenance backlog: $178 million
<p>Serenity Saugen throws water in the air as her brothers Micah, left, and Kyler search for rocks to throw in Lake McDonald while spending time at their favorite beach in Glacier National Park on Monday. The National Park Service on Thursday is launching a 'Find Your Park' campaign.</p>
Glacier National Park’s maintenance backlog currently sits at $178 million, according to a recent report.
The National Park Service’s 2014 deferred maintenance statistics spell out more than $11.5 billion in maintenance needs across the park system.
Deferred maintenance refers to upkeep needed to keep facilities and equipment in a condition that meets federal codes and standards while achieving service life expectancies.
Montana’s seven sites within the federal park system have outstanding maintenance needs totaling $334 million — with more than half of that in Glacier National Park.
Road work takes up the lion’s share of Glacier’s wish list, with $115 million needed for maintenance that includes painting new stripes, fixing curbs and filling potholes.
“Going-to-the-Sun Road is the big one,” said Denise Germann, the park’s spokeswoman. “It’s 50 miles and we’re going through the rehabilitation that started in 2007. We anticipate the rehabilitation will end in 2017, but even after that there’s still normal maintenance needs for that road.”
The rehabilitation work is separate from the deferred maintenance total.
An additional $27 million is needed for buildings throughout the park, from the historic Many Glacier Hotel and Lake McDonald Lodge to garages, sheds and backcountry structures.
Of that total, $11 million is considered critical, including repairs on roofs, foundations, exterior doors, heating and ventilation.
“When you have as many historic buildings as we do, in the harsh climate we get many times in the winter, there’s always some sort of maintenance work that needs to be completed,” Germann said.
The park’s 745-mile trail system is the third-largest item, requiring $13 million in work. Beyond the 151 trails themselves, that work also covers upkeep to interpretive waysides and signs.
President Obama’s proposed spending plan would appropriate $3 billion for the National Park Service. It includes hundreds of millions of dollars for deferred maintenance projects as well as a Second Century Investment Campaign that would spend $300 million annually for the next three years to fund major projects on the park service’s backlog.
Separately, his transportation proposal would put $150 million toward competitive grants for major transportation projects on federal and tribal lands.
The McClatchy Washington Bureau contributed to this story.
Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.