One of the most beautiful drives in the Midwest, the South Unit Scenic Road in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP) has finally reopened after a 6-year closure.
The reconstruction required a $51 million investment from an important park fund and the Dept. of Transportation, as well as a level of engineering that a North Dakota Senator described as “remarkable.”
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the South Unit Scenic Road passed through TRNP and allowed visitors to reach sites like the Scoria Point Overlook and Badlands Overlook.
It grew into one of the most popular attractions inside the park, which itself is the most popular attraction in North Dakota. Over time, however, the precarious terrain of the roadway began to break down.
The project repaired the section of the loop from the East River Road intersection to the Old East Entrance Station pull-off, about 6 miles in total. Due to rain damage and ongoing landslides along the road, the roadway was closed in 2019.
To reopen it again, crews had to enhance the old drainage systems, rebuild the road base, and conduct asphalt resurfacing along the 6-mile corridor. In addition to the restoration work, construction has improved emergency response capabilities on the park’s East side, enhancing both visitor and staff safety.
“It’s almost like building a bridge,” John Hoeven, US Senator for North Dakota, told the North Dakota Monitor. “You are building this stuff on the side of a butte, very steep, and it’s on sandstone, so the structural engineering that went into this is pretty remarkable.”
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Each year, approximately 100,000 vehicles explore the South Unit Road as part of their park visit. In 2024, the park’s 733,000 visitors contributed an estimated $56 million in local communities, according to the National Parks Service.
The Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund (GAOA) provided the bulk of the funding. Supported by revenue from energy development, it provided the NPS with up to $6.5 billion over five years to make address a massive backlog of deferred park maintenance across the country.
It was almost 2 decades before he became president that Theodore Roosevelt fell in love with the Badlands region of the Dakotas. He eventually credited the rugged landscape with restoring his health and building his rugged character.
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