Sun Road sees night closure

The night-time road closure on Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road (Sun Road) will be expanded to the Loop to allow crews to prepare the stretch of road from Crystal Point to Haystack for paving in September. Starting Monday, Aug. 17, the Sun Road will be closed from the Loop to the west side of Logan Pass Monday through Thursday, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and from 2:15 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Night work is also underway to rehabilitate the road between Big Bend and Logan Pass. The construction project on 2.84 miles of the Sun Road between Big Bend and Logan Pass is being done by HK Contractors Inc. of Idaho Falls. The project includes work on the stone masonry guard-walls and retaining walls, compaction grouting used to stabilize the subgrade, drainage improvements, slope stabilization, turnout improvements, roadbed improvements and paving. This portion of work is project is projected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2011.

Another segment of Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation will start this fall following the midnight Sept. 20 vehicular traffic closure of the road between Avalanche and the west side of the Logan Pass area. The November storm of 2006 caused an extensive slide directly off the shoulder of the Sun Road on McDonald Creek approximately 19 miles northeast of West Glacier. The repair work will be done by HK Contractors for $329,000. During this period, work will also accelerate on the Big Bend to Logan Pass contract. Logan Pass will be accessible from the St. Mary entrance.

Current road status is available at www.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm. Information is updated as conditions change. Visitors can also phone (406) 888-7800 for general park information, including the specific location of hiker/bicycle closures. Road conditions for Glacier Park are available by calling 511, the Montana Department of Transportation Traveler Information System. If a phone does not support 511, call (800) 226-7623. Both numbers are toll-free. Select “Glacier Park Tourist Information” (option # 5) from the menu to hear Glacier’s road report.