Visitors Are Excited as Yellowstone National Park Gets a Makeover With a Massive New Bridge
Over the last two decades, Yellowstone National Park has experienced a boom in tourism. The park now receives two million more visitors every year than it did in 2005. The dramatic increase in visitors made the park authorities alert, prompting them to overhaul the park's infrastructure. It also prompted the government to address the decades of backlogged repairs of these parks. Therefore, in 2020, the government passed the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), which provides $1.9 billion in annual funds for national park maintenance and infrastructure updates. Yellowstone is one of the parks that benefits from this program. The park has recently made a remarkable upgrade in its infrastructure, all thanks to the GAOA initiative.
The park has replaced its historic Yellowstone River Bridge with a new one, which is being hailed by visitors already. While there's still time for some final touches to the park's extended bridge, it has built up excitement among the locals. Yellowstone National Park's Lamar Valley is where one of the biggest GAOA projects has been taking place. The valley, also known as "Serengeti of North America," is rich in greenery and wildlife. One more thing that the Lamar Valley is known for is its Yellowstone River Bridge, the most iconic and historic element of the park. The structure literally bridged the gap between the stunning ecosystem of the valley and people without posing any threat to either. The public can easily access the bridge and enjoy the serene beauty.
Moreover, the bridge is a symbolic infrastructure and a feat of engineering and ecological ingenuity. In 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior awarded $118 million for the bridge replacement project. This historic deal is one of the largest awarded contracts that GAOA has ever provided. Yet the estimates of the infrastructure transformation surpass the awarded amount. In 2025, the estimated budget for the bridge replacement was about $134 million. Yellowstone National Park Service shared an Instagram post providing an exclusive look at the new bridge that is now operational. "Been to Lamar Valley lately? You might’ve seen the big news: the new Yellowstone River Bridge is open!" the caption read.
"This major #GreatAmericanOutdoorsAct project is moving into its final phase as crews continue work on overlooks, remove the old bridge, and restore the Lost Creek drainage," it added. The post also mentioned that the bridge will be completed sometime in 2026. According to TheTravel, the original and the renewed bridge have huge differences in terms of their dimensions. The new bridge is more than twice as long as the original and about 50% wider. The original bridge was at a 70-foot distance from the Lamar Valley, whereas the new bridge is about 175 feet above the landscape. The new design provides a safer distance from the valley, which is home to bison, elk, pronghorns, beavers, wolves, and grizzly bears.
The bridge road is located in a hydrothermal area, and the new design has taken that into consideration and added elements to ensure safety and longevity. "That was long overdue. I remember crossing the old one and seeing the rebar showing through the concrete and saying to myself. I just hope this holds up until we get across.... the new one is beautiful, thank you to all the construction workers!!" a visitor commented on Instagram.
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