Glacier road job in full swing

 Reconstruction work on the east side of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park will affect the St. Mary entrance area next week.

Starting Monday, crews will begin work between the St. Mary Visitor Center and Divide Creek Bridge (at the park boundary).

Traffic control will be in place to manage one lane of travel. Motorists should anticipate delays of 10 minutes or less, according to a news release Thursday from Glacier Park.

The St. Mary Visitor Center will remain open through Oct. 4.

On the stretch of Sun Road between Siyeh Bend and St. Mary Campground, visitors should plan for up to 30-minute traffic delays during weekday road work.

Beginning Oct. 5, Going-to-the-Sun Road will be closed to vehicles between Logan Pass and the St. Mary Campground entrance. The closure will be for the remainder of the season to facilitate accelerated road rehabilitation.

A detour will be available for people to reach St. Mary Campground via the Upper Divide Bridge just south of St. Mary.

However, St. Mary Campground is currently closed due to bear activity. It is unknown when the campground will reopen.

Current information on campground status in Glacier is available at http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/cgstatus/cgstatus.cfm.

Hikers and bicyclists will continue to have access to the east side of Sun Road on weekends and evenings when the contractor is not working. Portions of the roadbed may not be paved.  

Some trails remain closed on the east side of Going-to-the-Sun Road in the area of the Reynolds Creek Fire. For current trail information, go to http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/trailstatusreports.htm.

As of Oct. 5, Logan Pass will only be accessible by vehicle from the west side of the park through the third weekend in October, weather permitting.

Elsewhere, visitors should expect delays of 10 minutes or less due to one-way bridge traffic on the Many Glacier Road during rehabilitation work on the Windy and Apikuni bridges. This project is scheduled to continue through Oct. 16.

For additional park information,  visit the park’s website, www.nps.gov/glac, or call park headquarters at (406) 888-7800.