[Geysers] Madison Norris Road

[TSBryan at aol.com]

You may already know about this schedule, but following is an article from 
WEst Yellowstone News about the plans for the road between Madison and Norris...

Scott Bryan
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Park Road Gets Extreme Makeover
By Barbara Shesky 
Maintaining roadways is a never-ending process. Altering the course of a 
roadbed is a massive undertaking, especially in a National Park.
The road between Madison and Norris, built nearly 80 years ago by the 
Civilian Conservation Corps, runs extremely close to the Gibbon River.
The idea of building roads next to waterways has been rethought over the 
years. While it offers travelers a scenic and up close view, the problems far 
outweigh the benefits in this instance.
In 1999 Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Michael Finley announced 
that the Madison to Norris road would be reconstructed.
The first phase of that project is now completed. In a recent group
interview, Dan Rhodes, the Architectural Landscaper assigned to the project, 
offered a history lesson on why the project was needed.
According to Rhodes, during the original construction more than 30 warm and 
cold thermal cones, other features, and wetlands on the north side of the 
roadway were blocked and the course of the river altered in certain spots. This 
alteration created "pinch points in the riverbed,"
In addition, more than 30 species of rare plants were impacted by the 
construction. After the '88 fires, the deforested landscape surrounding the thermal 
cones created another problem, mudslides into the roadway - with debris 
collecting in the pinch points of the river, thus creating a driving hazard when the 
seasonal winter runoff and spring rains occurred. This problem, coupled with 
an already deteriorating and weak roadbed, led to a massive road reconstruction 
project that has to date cost $18.5 million
dollars.
Engineering plans for this type of project are developed in phases. Phase One 
included the repaving of portions of the roadway that were salvageable, the 
creation of retaining walls, the grading of two new picnic areas, and the 
reconstruction of another. The biggest part of the first phase was building a new 
roadbed, upriver from the falls, that lifts the road up and away from the 
Gibbon River along the portion that is most susceptible to mudslides.
To date the project has gone as scheduled. This will, "allow wetlands to flow 
back into the river," says Park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews, by diverting a 
portion of the road to follow a power-line and old service road that already 
exist at a higher elevation.
Planning and budgeting for the project's second stage are nearly completed. 
Last Tuesday a Geo-technical road crew was wrapping up the gathering of 
information from drill borings to see how deep the footer for the new bridge abutment 
needs to be, so that the budget can be finalized.
The Park expects funds to become available in early summer 2005. They will 
finance the building of a bridge over the Gibbon River to join the newly 
diverted roadway and the existing roadbeds.
The new portion of the road diverts drivers up in elevation away from the 
river where the road travels particularly close to the water. The new bridge 
abutment will sit between two huge boulders that exist just above where the drop 
off to the riverbed begins. This new road will offer visitors to the park 
excellent views of the Caldera rim. Two new picnic areas, Caldera Rim and Iron 
Springs (both with restrooms), have been graded. Iron Springs has a lovely view of 
Secret Valley to the east.
Also included in the second phase is the paving of the new roadway, 
revegetating the sides of the road affected by the construction, the paving and 
development and revegetation of three picnic areas, and a complete revamping of the 
Gibbon Falls lookout point.
Concerns have developed over the years because the roadway and parking area 
near the falls are unsafe. The road is curvy and narrow, the parking is 
cramped, and tourists have little choice but to walk on the road at some points. With 
the increasing number of large RVs the problem has grown.
The new lookout area will divert a short portion of the road away from the 
river. It will also provide a new parking area on the north side of the road, 
and separate parking from the overlook. The retaining wall at the lookout is a 
designated historic landmark and will not be altered, but an extension will be 
added along the rim of the falls for viewer safety at an extended lookout 
point.
The final portion of phase two will involve the abandoned portion of the 
road. The asphalt will be dug out and soils and vegetation will be restored. 
Eventually the river will right itself and follow its natural course. Once again, 
the thermal features will be allowed to make their way to the river and the 
rare plants will be given a chance to gain a foothold.
Al Nash, a Park Information Specialist, summarized by saying, "Tie it up with 
a bow and you have a better visitor experience. A safer visitor experience - 
Changes that will allow us to restore some disturbed areas- A lot of wins 
here." Phase Two's scheduled completion date is 2008, and the ballpark estimate of 
cost is $10 to $20 million.
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