Yellowstone National Park is temporarily shutting down the road at Mammoth Hot Springs to finish the work they started after a water line break earlier this summer.
The major break occurred on Friday, Aug. 14 in the water line that brings water to all the facilities at Mammoth Hot Springs. Park crews worked through the night to locate the break and temporarily repair the spot to simultaneously keep the water flowing and the road open to traffic.
The plan was always to return to the spot and finish repairs once visitation and traffic slowed down once the park’s main tourist season ended.
Now, that time has come. Crews will be fully replacing a culvert on the Mammoth Hot Springs water line.
The road between the Upper and Lower Terraces closes today from 8 a.m. to noon During that duration of the replacement, visitors at Mammoth Hot Springs will be able to explore the Lower Terraces but cannot head further south towards the Norris Geyser Basin, while visitors at Norris will be unable to head north into Mammoth.
If all goes as planned, the work may be completed, and the road reopened before noon.
2020 has been a year of unexpected road closures in Yellowstone. The section of the Grand Loop Road between Old Faithful and West Thumb was closed several times due to the smoke and haze from the Lone Star Fire.
On Aug. 27, the route between the Fishing Bridge Junction and Mud Volcano was closed after 3,000 gallons of gasoline spilled after a tandem trailer overturned. It was Yellowstone’s largest fuel spill in two decades.
The road reopened on September 5 after a nine-day cleanup of the spill.
Periodic road closures are becoming more frequent in Yellowstone as the park transitions into winter. Winter weather conditions caused the periodic closure of Sylvan Pass and the East Entrance nine times in the last week.
For up-to-date road information, visit go.nps.gov/YellRoads, call (307) 344-2117 for a recorded message, or sign up to receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone by texting “82190” to 888-777.
