Starting Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, a portion of will be accessible by shuttle bus only between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. until Oct. 9.
Work on a 5.1-mile stretch of Bear Lake Road and is expected to last two years.
The $27.7 million project includes new retaining walls, more pullouts and parking, bridge repair, widening and resurfacing, improvements to aid snow removal, and rerouting almost a mile near Glacier Creek.
Similar work was completed in 2004 on the upper 4.3 mile section of the road.
Private vehicles can travel through the construction zone between Trail Ridge Road and Glacier Basin Campground before 9 a.m. and after 4 p.m., according to the National Park Service.
Bear Lake Road is one of the park’s the most popular attractions with year-round access to sightseeing and recreation.
The park estimates more than 2 million visitors a year drive Bear Lake Road. Last year more than 440,000 people rode the shuttle buses.
This project will conclude 47 miles of improvements to Rocky Mountain National Park’s roads since 2003, and it is scheduled to be finished just ahead of the park’s 100th anniversary in 2015.
Bear Lake Road was completed in 1928. “and until 2003, no significant improvements were made. No major road work has taken place on the lower section for more than 80 years,” the National Parks Service stated.
