The Badlands Loop Road at Cedar Pass in Badlands National Park in South Dakota will remain open, with one lane, while repairs are made.

The road had been scheduled to close for as long as six weeks while repairs were made to the road bed. Cedar Pass is a steep and unstable slump area and is continually undergoing active erosion, park officials said earlier this month. Recent record-breaking rainfall has added to the ongoing problem. On-site work has determined that the road cannot be stabilized without extensive corrective action, resulting in the necessary road closure.

However, after objections were raised to closing the entire road, officials developed a suitable reroute option that will maintain single lane access. 

“The exigency of maintaining access expressed by the local community, stakeholders and emergency service operations and effective civic engagement caused the park to engineer a safe alternative to closing the road,” said Deputy Superintendent Reed Robinson. “We are hopeful that one lane will be able to remain open throughout the construction project.”

There may be short periods of time when long vehicles such as motorhomes and vehicles pulling trailers will not be able to travel through the construction area, officials added.