Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road through the Golden Gate near Mammoth Hot Springs/NPS file, Jacob W. Frank

A $22 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration will help pay for reconstruction of a 0.7-mile-long segment of the Norris to Golden Gate roadway in Yellowstone National Park.

The road is a critical transportation link to Yellowstone’s major destinations and the millions of people who visit the park each year as well as local residents and surrounding communities. The project is expected to significantly improve the exceptionally difficult and challenging roadway to improve safety and pedestrian access, alleviate rockfall hazards, upgrade vehicle pullouts and parking areas, and add new pedestrian facilities to separate people from traffic, a park release said.

“Good transportation elements are key to experiencing the great outdoors at Yellowstone National Park,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday when the funding was announced. “The grant for the National Park Service will make travel there more convenient for tourists, residents, workers and local businesses.”

The Yellowstone project is one of five nationwide receiving a total of $88.2 million in Fiscal Year 2023 funding under FHWA’s Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Projects Program. FHWA also announced $20.5 million in Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund grants for 80 projects. The full list of grant recipients can be found at Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund.
 
The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides up to $355 million per year in Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects for Fiscal Years 2022-2026. The law also modifies the program by requiring that half of all funding go to projects on tribal communities and increases the Federal share of projects on tribal transportation facilities to 100 percent.