Going To The Sun Road in Glacier Park in Line for Major Rebuild

It's possible Santa got a got a good view from overhead last Christmas and thought, "Ho Ho Hmmm!...This baby could use some work!"

Or not. But tourists might find the plan beneficial. Our thanks to Chad Sokol, a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake, who shared the news that the U.S. Department of the Interior has sent a proposal to Congress to rebuild the 9.3-mile stretch of the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Part of the proposal that really jumps out is the plan to demolish the existing bridge and replace it with a 270-foot-long, clear-span, highway-rated bridge over McDonald Creek in Glacier National Park. This is among hundreds of other maintenance projects on federal lands.

If Congress does approve funding, Going-to-the-Sun Road would be rebuilt from the south end of Lake McDonald to the intersection with North Lake McDonald Road. The project would involve widening and banking curves to help drivers navigate the scenic road.

With so much tourist pressure on Going-to-the-Sun Road, there have been other repair projects over the years. Funding for deferred-maintenance projects would come from the Great American Outdoors Act that was signed into law last summer. There is an emphasis on watching proposed allocations closely to make sure investments are going to the highest-priority projects, like Going-to-the-Sun. The appropriations process is described as inching forward and a spending bill needs to be passed by December 11.