USA06 September, 20263 min read
New Pretty Rocks Bridge Reopens Denali Park Road After August 2021 Landslide Damage
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Pretty Rocks Bridge completed, reconnecting the eastern and western portions of Denali Park Road. Bridge allows full Denali Park Road access again; public bus service to resume in 2027.
Bridge Restores Denali Access
Denali National Park visitors will be able to travel the entire length of the park’s only road again after a new bridge opened spanning the active landslide near mile 45 of the Denali Park Road. The park said it closed Denali Park Road at about Mile 45 in August 2021 after it could no longer be safely maintained, and the new bridge is intended as a long-term solution at the Pretty Rocks landslide. The roughly 475-foot steel truss bridge reconnects the eastern and western portions of the road, and it is designed to allow cyclists and pedestrians to cross for now.
The National Park Service said the roughly $230 million project was funded through a combination of federal transportation, disaster supplemental and infrastructure funding, and it was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday. NPS said the bridge uses 23 underground thermosiphons to help keep the permafrost beneath the eastern end stable as crews prepare for the 2027 visitor season.
Timeline, Cost, and Construction
Alaska’s News Source (KTUU) said the new bridge restoring access was completed Wednesday, five years after the Pretty Rocks Landslide cut off access to remote stretches of Denali National Park in the Polychrome Pass area in August 2021. KTUU reported that the bridge’s total cost was about $230 million, and it said the bridge stands about 50 feet tall and 24 feet wide. The National Park Service said the bridge was assembled on the east side of the landslide and launched across the unstable area in 2025 before being lowered into its final position.
NPS said the project required engineers and construction crews to overcome steep terrain, complex geology, permafrost conditions, a remote work site and a limited Alaska construction season. The Anchorage Daily News said the project was originally expected to be finished last year but was delayed due to an unusually long winter and construction complications.
What Returns Next
NPS said public bus service to the west end of the road is expected to resume for the 2027 visitor season, while buses will continue to travel no farther than East Fork for the remainder of the 2026 visitor season.
The National Park Service said that when the Pretty Rocks landslide forced the NPS to close the road in August 2021, it interrupted vehicle access to destinations and facilities west of the landslide, including Eielson Visitor Center, Wonder Lake, park residential and maintenance facilities, and Kantishna.
NPS said hikers and cyclists can travel west of East Fork at mile 43 and cross the Pretty Rocks Bridge as of Aug. 27, and it said visitors should check the Denali National Park and Preserve website for the latest trip-planning and road-access information.
In a statement, Denali National Park and Preserve Superintendent Brooke Merrell said, "This is an exciting milestone for Denali and for everyone who has worked over the past five years to restore access to the west end of the park road," as the agency prepared for the 2027 return of access.
NPS also said that in 2024, visitors to Denali National Park and Preserve spent more than $600 million in communities near the park, supporting more than 5,600 jobs and generating nearly $880 million in economic output.