A federal Transportation Department grant program will help three units of the National Park System tackle some much needed roadwork.

The funding, nearly $123.6 million, comes via grants from DOT's Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program. It is going to projects in Everglades National Park, the Natchez Trace Parkway, and Yellowstone National Park.

* At Everglades, $60 million will help pay for reconstruction of a 6.5-mile section of the Tamiami Trail, with the highway raised above the "river of grass" via small bridges.

* At Natchez Trace Parkway, $35.7 million will be used to rehabilitate a section of the parkway in Mississippi and Alabama, with heavy resurfacing, restoration and rehabilitation, to improve the pavement condition of several miles of parkway. Raised pavement markers will be installed to improve safety throughout the project area.

* In Yellowstone, $27.8 million will pay for reconstruction and upgrades to several miles of roads near the park's North Entrance.

“These grants will help modernize our aging transportation infrastructure, address a significant amount of our maintenance backlog, and improve overall visitor experience and access to our national parks,” National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith said. “Our more than 5,500 miles of paved roads bring in more than 300 million visitors annually, and it is a top priority to maintain and improve them.”

The NSFLTP Program was established under the Fix America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to address nationally significant projects within, adjacent to, or accessing federal and tribal lands. Candidate projects must be at least $25 million, sponsored by a federal land management agency or tribe, and contribute at least 10 percent of costs from non-USDOT program funds.