An influx of federal dollars through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is helping Grand Canyon National Park crews repair trails and put new roofs on aging structures.

"Recent projects include repair of the historic North Rim forest trails, some of which have been damaged by wildfire, and replacement of shingles on South Rim quarters," park officials said in a release Monday. "Approximately $495,000 in ARRA funds were received for the historic North Rim forest trails project and $194,000 for the shingles project."

The work, which includes repairs to the 5-mile-long Uncle Jim Trail on the North Rim, is much needed. The national park has $262 million in deferred maintenance, of which $24 million is directly related to trails, according to Grand Canyon Superintendent Steve Martin. Another $9 million of that total can be traced to housing needs, he said.

Work on the Uncle Jim Trail includes rebuilding of surface structures that are designed to hold the trail in place, as well as the rebuilding of subsurface features, replacement of water bars, construction of hitching posts, and a gravel trail that will lead to a new composting toilet near the trailhead, park officials said, adding that once work is completed on the Uncle Jim Trail, trail crews will begin work on other historic North Rim forest trails, including the Ken Patrick Trail, Widforss Trail, Transept Trail and a number of other forest trails.

Much of the work will revolve around the removal of dead and downed trees, mitigating impacts from social trailing and re-establishing the historic footprint, the park said.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed earlier this year gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, the National Park Service received $750 million – approximately $10 million of which was directed to Grand Canyon National Park.

Additional Grand Canyon projects selected under ARRA include the rehabilitation of the historic trans-canyon trail (work began with the South Kaibab Trail in June 2009); preservation treatment on 130 miles of roads; improvements to wastewater flow meters to increase visitor health and safety; rehabilitation of historic South Rim housing; repair and rehabilitation of housing at Supai Camp (an area established in the 1920s as a permanent location for local members of the Havasupai Tribe to maintain a residential area in the vicinity of the South Rim Village) as well as the rehabilitation of two non-historic structures at the Camp; rehabilitation of HVAC systems in the park’s Fee Management Office and Visitor Center; replacement of doors on historic South Rim facilities as well as painting the facilities to improve energy efficiency and appearance (the painting portion of this project has been completed); and purchase of five new alternative fuel transit buses.