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Beartooth Highway under construction

By KAYLEY MENDENHALL Chronicle Staff Writer

The scenic Beartooth Highway, known for its hairpin curves leading to spectacular views from 11,000 feet, is getting a facelift.


 Between now and 2010, sections of the 53-mile stretch of road between Red Lodge and Cooke City will be under construction, said Denise Parsons, executive director of the Red Lodge Chamber of Commerce.

Tourists should expect delays of up to 30 minutes as crews route traffic, one lane at a time, through the construction zone.

"What better place to be stopped than the Beartooth Highway?" Parsons said. "We want to encourage people to understand it's going to be making the road safer and wider."

The entire $60 million project is scheduled to take several years because of the short construction season in the high-elevation area.

The work includes construction of more places for drivers to pull over and enjoy the views and installation of more informational signs, she said. Campgrounds along the routes will be improved as well.

Several different federal agencies are involved in the multi-million-dollar project: the Central Federal Lands Highway Division is overseeing the project in Wyoming; and the Western Federal Lands Highway Division is overseeing the work in Montana.

The first segment of construction, from Cooke City east to the Montana/Wyoming border, has already begun, said Ted Wood, a design engineer for the Western division in Vancouver, Wash.

Over the next two years, he said, construction crews will be widening that five-mile stretch of road and straightening out some tight curves. That segment alone will cost close to $11 million to renovate.

After that portion of the project is complete, Wood said, construction will begin on the stretch of road between Yellowstone and Cooke City.

The Central Highway Division will start work between the top of the pass and the Wyoming/Montana border next year, he said.

"It's going to be with us for a while," Parsons said of the project.

But she encouraged people to keep driving the road.

"The road is open, just a small section will be under construction," Parsons said. "It's a really good thing. It's going to make the road much more travelable."

For more information, visit http://www.cflhd.gov/projects/WYBeartooth.cfm or call 1-800-285-4636.

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