Work goes through the winter
The Park’s planned stops for a shuttle service. Folks coming from the west side can get to Logan Pass and then can catch a shuttle at the Pass to get to the east side.
on Glacier's transit center
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
Glacier National Park's Transit Center is beginning to take shape as crews work on the structure through the winter.
The center will be the hub for the Park's free shuttle service, which will allow visitors and backpackers to travel up and down the Sun Highway.
The center is expected to be completed in late June and open for visitors by July 1, said Park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt on a recent tour of the facility.
The building is now framed in and the roof is being finished. When completed, the building will house bathrooms and several kiosks where visitors can get more information on the Park as well as transit staff.
The structure has huge log pillars and the feel of the Park's lodges - the shingles, for example, are laid out in a pattern to resemble cedar and the building has exposed beams. The original idea was to take logs from trees that were dead and removed from the Logging Creek campground earlier this fall, but that didn't work out - the logs weren't strong enough, said project manager Glen Smith.
The building is 4,290 square feet and the project cost $4.3 million. The general contractor is James Talcott Construction of Great Falls.
When completed, it will have four bathrooms, two men's and two women's, so that one can be shut down and cleaned while another is left open. Vehicle traffic will enter from the T intersection at the Sun and Camas Roads, while shuttle traffic will enter from a separate entrance and come through a loop.
Inside the building the plan is to have a large screen on the wall where folks can see where shuttles are located. The shuttles will be tracked via a GPS system and will make 15 stops along the Sun Highway and to Fish Creek Campground.
The shuttles will work the highway from both ends - another transit area is planned for St. Mary as well.
The Park has also taken pains to lend a Sun Road feel to the outside of the building. A wall was completed this winter that mimics the Sun Road's walls. It looks like a nice place to sit in the shade while you wait for a bus.
Just how many folks will use the free shuttle service remains to be seen, but a Park survey done last year seems to indicate it will be popular with hikers in particular.
Currently, folks who want to hike the Highline Trail from Granite Park to Logan Pass need two cars or they have to hitch hike in order to get back to their vehicle.
The shuttle service will eliminate that need.
The service also opens up other hiking possibilities as well. For example, the Siyeh Pass hike on the east side also requires two vehicles.
The shuttle system is partially paid for by a hike in entrance fees to Glacier. It also designed to ease traffic on the Sun Highway while reconstruction of the road is taking place over the next few years.