WEST GLACIER, MONT. - The entire Inside North Fork Road is expected to open by noon Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007. Most of the road has been closed this summer due to damage which occurred during a storm last November. Park crews have performed interim repairs which will enable officials to open the road before permanent repairs are made this fall. Caution is urged for any visitor electing to travel this road.
Two areas of the road were impacted by the November storm. At the Anaconda Creek crossing, approximately 14 miles south of Polebridge, flood waters washed out a section of road. (This is the same area that washed out previously and prevented last summer’s opening of the road.) Park crews have installed temporary culverts and they used road base material to temporarily fill-in the washout. At the McGee Meadow Hill, approximately 2.7 miles from the Fish Creek entrance, saturated soils caused a major slough to cast-off one lane of road. Visitors from both directions will share one travel lane for about 50 yards in this area. The Federal Highway Administration will administer a contract to complete the long-term repairs at these two sites.
The Inside North Fork Road is a 28-mile narrow, bumpy, gravel road between Fish Creek and Polebridge. Recreational, towed, and low clearance vehicles are strongly discouraged from traveling this road. In ideal conditions, about two hours are needed to travel the whole road. Visitors may encounter downed trees, and therefore should have a hand saw or ax with them. The road was also recently graded, leaving several sharp rocks exposed.
For current road condition information, visit the park’s road status Web site https://www.nps.gov/applications/glac/roadstatus/roadstatus.cfm.
- NPS -
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
