Yellowstone's Newest Bridge Adds Visitor-Friendly Perks To America's Oldest National Park

A major project to replace a crumbling bridge approaching Yellowstone National Park's Northeast Entrance in Montana is nearing completion. The Yellowstone River Bridge connects America's oldest National Park to the scenic Yellowstone hub of Cooke City and the nearby community of Silver Gate. The new bridge is more than twice the length of the original, which was built in 1963 and had become structurally unsafe. The 1,285-foot bridge is also 50% wider than the previous version and features a separate pedestrian walkway, allowing visitors to safely walk up the bridge for river valley views.

Yellowstone, which is one of the best national parks for rare and endangered wildlife, including wild gray wolves and large herds of bison, is open every day of the year. When the project was announced, then-National Park Service Director Chuck Sams described the new bridge as "a vital piece of the only road corridor in the park that is plowed for winter use." According to the park's official Facebook page, the two-lane bridge is now open to cars and is "moving into its final phase as crews continue work on overlooks, remove the old bridge, and restore the Lost Creek drainage."

The Yellowstone River Bridge Project, which is scheduled to wrap up by the fall of 2026, has been an ambitious undertaking. The project moved forward in spring 2023 after the park secured $118 million of funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). Initial estimates by park officials projected a budget of around $71 million, but escalating construction and labor expenses drove up the final figure.

Established as the first federally protected national park in 1872, Yellowstone is one of the country's most popular parks and attracted around 4.7 million visitors in 2024. It is hoped that the construction of the new bridge will help ease pressures from the rising number of tourists visiting the park. It can be tricky to decide on the best time of year to visit Yellowstone, as it is so popular, though summer tends to be when the park becomes the most crowded.

As well as providing year-round access to visitors driving to Yellowstone's Northeast Entrance, construction of paved parking areas near the bridge will allow them the opportunity to explore the nearby scenery and take advantage of fishing on the Yellowstone River. Access to the Canyon Section of the river is via a half-mile trail that starts just across from the bridge, where keen anglers can fish for cutthroat trout.

Built with sulfate-resistant cement, the Yellowstone River Bridge has been designed to withstand the geothermal activity along this stretch of river, where gas vents dot the banks. As for its predecessor, a decision has been made to remove that bridge entirely. According to a recent report in SFGATE, Yellowstone National Park spokesperson Linda Veres said the park considered keeping the old bridge as a wildlife crossing for bison, but ultimately decided against it.