Work on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park loop has stopped for the winter, but the finish line is in sight

MEDORA, N.D. — Theodore Roosevelt National Park visitors will have to wait a few more months to enjoy the south unit’s full loop, as construction on a stretch of roadway that collapsed five years ago has halted for the winter.

Winter has brought a drop in temperature, which has halted the Scenic Loop Drive reconstruction project for the season, said Maureen McGee-Ballinger, deputy superintendent and chief for interpretation and education at the park. Park officials had hoped that the weather would have cooperated and allowed construction crews to finish work on the nearly six-mile stretch of road by November.

“We anticipate, because it is pretty close to being done, that it’s going to be done by this coming summer,” she said Thursday. “We’ll let everyone know. We’ll have a nice, big celebration.”

It’s unclear how much the construction project will cost, though U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, two Republicans from North Dakota, helped secure more than $47 million in federal funding for road repairs on the scenic loop.

A series of landslides, poor road subgrade material and ineffective drainage have plagued the Scenic Loop Drive for years, the park said. A four-mile stretch of the road slid down a hill in 2019.

Though some parts of the road didn’t fully collapse, pictures show deep fissures in the asphalt.

The park closed its south unit loop between mile marker 22 and 28, preventing visitors from driving the full 36-mile loop for five years. The closed portion has several popular attractions in the south-central part of the park, including the Ridgeline Trail, the Badlands Outlook and Scoria Point.

Construction began in 2022.

The project is the first major rehabilitation job done to the drive in 20 years, according to the park. The goal is to stabilize the road to make it more sustainable, according to project documents.

The construction also gave the park an opportunity to expand parking at several outlook and trail locations, McGee-Ballinger said.

That will include Scoria Point, which only had a few parking spots before the collapse. The parking area there will be widened so more people can stop to enjoy the outlook, McGee-Ballinger said.

“It’s actually going to make it more accessible than before it was closed,” she said.

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit is accessible through Medora, which is about 35 miles west of Dickinson. Its north unit is about 70 miles northwest of Dickinson.

The park also has the Elkhorn Ranch Unit between the south and north units. That’s where President Theodore Roosevelt, the park’s namesake, built a ranch for himself after his wife and mother died. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only one named after a president.

Between 750,000 and 800,000 people visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park each year.