DENALI NATIONAL PARK, Alaska, Aug 17: Three hundred tourists are stranded in a national park in Alaska after heavy rains triggered mudslides and caused excess water from a culvert to damage a road.
The superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve closed Denali Park Road to all traffic at mile 30 on Friday. The road is the only one inside the vast park.
The National Park Service said in a news release it anticipates reopening the road Saturday.
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But on Friday evening, a park official said the road could re-open sooner.
“The main area they’re focusing on is Polychrome Pass,” Paul Ollig, acting public information officer, told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “We are confident conditions are improving, and we should be able to get a lane clear this evening to get buses out of Toklat and evacuated through.”
The park service says officials are working to ensure the safety and comfort of those effected. Shuttle buses are gathering people at the Toklat Rest Area temporarily while road crews continue to address hazard areas.
Similar debris flows led to daylong traffic restrictions last week. Continued heavy rains since kept the road and surrounding tundra saturated with water.
Also on Friday, the Alaska Railroad said it has halted service north of the park due to the failure of retaining wall caused by high water in the Nenana River.
Passenger and freight service will be suspended through the area until late Monday at the earliest, the railroad said in a statement.
The railroad added that passengers traveling north to or south from Denali Park on the Alaska Railroad or on an Alaska Railroad provided service through Holland America / Princess or Premier Alaska Tours should expect delays.
