About half of the rooms at Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park will be unavailable in 2016./Kurt Repanshek

Booking a room at the historic Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park will be even tougher than usual this year, and those who get a reservation will encounter closed-off areas and noise related to a $13.6 million construction project.

During the summer, about half of the hotel’s 211 rooms will be closed as health and safety concerns are addressed. The affected rooms are located above the lobby and within Annex II. Additionally, the lobby spaces (including the deck and lake-level areas) will be under construction and inaccessible.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the concessioner who operates the hotel, will be providing check-in and other guest functions in the Interlaken Lounge area. The front doors and portico will be impacted, and the main entrance to the hotel will be temporarily moved to the northern half of the building. Traffic patterns for arriving and departing guests might be altered, but directional signs will be posted. The upper parking lot will remain available for guest parking.

“Capital improvements in our signature historic structures like the Many Glacier Hotel help reduce our annual operating and maintenance costs and serve as a welcome sign to the next century of park visitors,” Glacier Superintendent Jeff Mow said in a release. “I know this project investment will pay dividends in the future for our guests.”

While construction hours will be limited to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., work will be ongoing during the entire summer. Visitors will encounter some daytime construction-related noise, visible construction staging areas, and areas closed to entry. Dining, retail, and overnight accommodations will continue within the hotel, and bus tours (including services offered on both the historic Red Buses and by Sun Tours) will continue to arrive and depart from the hotel. Boat tours and horseback rides will be offered by Glacier Park Boat Company and Swan Mountain Outfitters from their operational locations near the hotel. Ranger naturalists will offer evening programs at the Many Glacier Campground Amphitheater, though there will not be any programs offered within the hotel.

The project includes all of Annex II, South Bridge (Breezeway), and the lobby of the hotel. The fire suppression, fire alarm, plumbing, electrical, and ventilation systems will be replaced within this section of the building. Additional work will address seismic stability, replace structural members, enhance accessibility, and abate hazardous materials.

Swank Enterprises began staging on April 1 and will continue work through December. Construction will pick up again in April 2017, though it is expected to be completed by June 2, in time for peak visitor season. Glacier National Park Lodges will be completing additional upgrades, including replacement of select guest room decor and finishes, as well as the lobby and public area furnishings. Sixty of the guest rooms will be converted to “upscale” rooms with enhanced amenities. Additionally, the concessioner will be completing upgrades to the gift shop and Heidi’s, which will be located on the lake level once completed.

This project represents the final two phases of a seven-phase plan at Many Glacier Hotel that has been implemented over the past 15 years, with significant components completed in 2005 and 2012. The hotel opened to guests on July 4, 1915, and Annex II was completed in 1917.The passage of time, the evolution of stricter building codes for occupant safety, and harsh environmental conditions have contributed to its deteriorated condition. Considerable media attention and public interest was generated in the late 1990s regarding the condition of this National Historic Landmark. Glacier National Park’s 1999 General Management Plan highlighted the deteriorated condition of Many Glacier Hotel and other historic park facilities as a critical issue.

Restoration of lost historical elements are not funded as part of this project; however, separate funding was acquired through NPS Centennial matching funds, private donations, and entrance fee funding to restore the historic helical staircase between the main and lower lobby levels and to install the historic corridor lighting of Annex II similar to what was done in Annex 1 in 2012.

A separate project will focus on employee housing, beginning with a one-story fourplex with a laundry facility for employees at the Swiftcurrent housing area. Future phases will take places as funding is available, with a goal of building a one-story duplex at the East Glacier developed area and a two-story eightplex at Swiftcurrent. The housing will replace beds lost when 10 severely deteriorated trailers in the St. Mary District housing area were removed in recent years. The Environmental Assessment and finding of no significant impact can be found online.