$50k study of traffic in West Yellowstone

The increasing number of tourists entering Yellowstone National Park’s west gate has prompted a study of traffic congestion in West Yellowstone, Montana.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District in Gallatin County recently received a $50,000 federal grant for the study.

Northern Rocky Executive Director Rob Gilmore says traffic trying to get into the park on its west end, which sometimes cuts the town in half, has become a “serious problem.”

Gilmore said Northern Rocky has worked with the park and other agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to address traffic congestion.

He says the organization is trying to find solutions that will free up the traffic in town and not degrade the tourism in any way.