Projects and Construction

Grand Canyon National Park is one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world—unmatched in the incomparable vistas it offers on the South and North rims. The park is not only home to more than 4,000 different species of plants and animals, a community of about 2,500 people resides here, and has hosted more than 6 million annual visitors during peak years. With the park’s popularity come the pressures of balancing the preservation and protection of the ecosystem and operational needs.

The National Park Service has initiated a series of projects to ensure necessary critical infrastructure is upgraded or replaced to enhance overall safety, residents’ quality of life, and visitor experience while protecting park resources. Every effort has been made to schedule work to reduce impacts to visitors and residents, but near-term impacts are inevitable. We thank you for your patience as we carry out these important projects.

Planned Projects

Support Facilities

Goal: Upgrading and creating the necessary facilities in advance of the upcoming series of large-scale park projects.

Featured projects: Substation, Helicopter Base (part of the Transcanyon Waterline project), and North Rim laydown

Projects highlights include:

• Installing a substation to meet all modern code requirements of increased electrical capacity and installation of park facilities and structures for current and future operational needs.
• Relocating the electrical substation facility from the South Rim Historical Powerhouse District to a designated utility corridor.
• Rehabilitating the park’s helicopter base to include constructing an auxiliary hangar, landing pad, and a nearby contractor support area to facilitate the transportation of equipment and supplies into the inner canyon.
• Identifying and creating a contractor and park operational laydown area on the North Rim in support of future North Rim infrastructure projects.

Water Delivery System Replacement

Goal: Replacing the aged water delivery system to meet the service needs for the South Rim and Cross Canyon Corridor and the North Rim over the next 50 plus years in support of visitor, employee, and resident health and safety while protecting natural and cultural resources.

Featured projects: Transcanyon Water Distribution Pipeline (TCWL) and North Rim Utilities

Projects highlights include:

• Rehabilitating or replacing miles of aged waterline and electrical line to increase durability and reliability of delivery in the extreme terrain and climate conditions.
• Relocating the water intake for the South Rim to reduce the waterline delivery system.
• Water distribution system replacement at Havasupai Gardens and distribution improvements at the Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile Rest Houses.
• Constructing a new water treatment plant and storage tanks at Phantom Ranch.
• Planning and constructing a water delivery system to the North Rim.

Water/Wastewater Service Rehabilitation

Goals: The short-term goal is to repair aging service lines and facilities to stabilize and increase the reliability of water and wastewater services in support of visitor and employee health and safety. The long-term goal is to replace aging service lines and facilities to increase the capacity of water and wastewater services in support of visitor and employee health and safety.

Short-Term Featured Projects (Phase I): repair Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) at Phantom Ranch (completed), North Rim, and Desert View (completed).

Long-Term Featured Projects (Phase II): replace and rehabilitate WWTPs at South Rim, Phantom Ranch, and North Rim (part of the North Rim Utilities project), and a new South Rim Water Treatment Plant (part of the TCWL project).

Projects highlights include:

• Installing infrastructure to meet all modern code requirements for fire protection flow demands and potable water quality and storage.
• Replacing and relocating wastewater lines.
• Replacing the lift stations.
• Installing conduit for future fiber optic communication cable.

Visitor Use and Experience

Goal: Improve visitor arrival experience and enhance resource protection and cultural experience through the redesign of parking areas, pathways, bridges, and other visitor amenities.

Featured projects: North Rim Entrance Station, Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site, and Ribbon Falls Trail Bridge

Projects highlights include:

• Rehabilitating the North Rim Entrance Station to restore its historical integrity while modernizing the building by adding another fee collection booth, break room, and restrooms for staff.
• Rehabilitating existing buildings at Desert View to provide a Tribal Welcome Center with exhibits and a cultural demonstration area.
• Rehabilitating the amphitheater, pathways and redesigning the parking lot to provide better accessibility of the Desert View developed area.

Transportation

Goal: Upgrading transit infrastructure and supporting facilities to meet increased visitation use.

Featured Projects: North Rim Entrance Road; Shuttle Bus Maintenance Facility

Projects highlights include:

• Increasing the capacity of the shuttle bus maintenance facility to include more maintenance bays with improved overhead and overall workspace for employees to conduct safe and efficient daily and routine maintenance and inspections.
• Allocating necessary administrative, training, and storage spaces for shuttle bus staff.
• Repaving the North Rim Entrance Road.

Project Documents

Current and archived Grand Canyon project documents are available to review on the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment site, or at the Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collection.