Comment on proposed Yellowstone construction
By Moosetrack Megan

Posted: April 26, 2017

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park seeks comments from the public on a proposed project to reconstruct a segment of the East Entrance Road from Fishing Bridge to Indian Pond (3.2 miles). The proposed road reconstruction project would include the road, associated parking areas and turnouts, Fishing Bridge, and Pelican Creek Bridge. The project would make the road compliant with engineering safety standards, widen the road to the parkwide standard of 30-feet, repair or replace the deteriorated bridges, restore wetland functions, and improve roadway and parking efficiency.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed project evaluates two alternatives: a no action alternative and one action alternative. In Alternative A, the no action alternative, the road, bridges, and parking areas would remain unchanged. Alternative B includes reconstructing the road to 30-feet, reconstructing the parking lots adjacent to the Fishing Bridge Museum and the Fishing Bridge General Store, adding turn lanes through the developed area of Fishing Bridge, rehabilitating or replacing the Fishing Bridge, and replacing the Pelican Creek Bridge and associated causeway with a 1,500 foot viaduct over the wetland. The EA analyzes soils, vegetation, wetlands, cultural resources, and threatened and endangered species.

If the proposed project is implemented, construction delays would normally be limited to 30 minutes. There may be some temporary road closures. These closures could consist of regular nighttime closures, and/or all day closures lasting up to a few days in duration. A complete road closure late in the season (after Labor Day) could be required.

Public comments will be collected until May 26, 2017, on the Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/FBIP. If you are unable to submit your comments online, mail comments to:
Fishing Bridge to Indian Pond Reconstruction, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming 82190. You may also hand deliver written comments to the Albright Visitor Center in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Public Comment Considerations
Comments will not be accepted by fax, email, or in any other way than those specified above.
Bulk comments in any format (hard copy or electronic) submitted on behalf of others will not be accepted.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made public at any time. You may ask us to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, yet, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
The proposed project is an undertaking as outlined under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (36 CRF § 800). As such, we welcome comments about historic properties or other cultural resources that fall within the project area.
The park is also completing compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for this project, and is consulting with the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office on the proposed design.

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