Workers heading to jobs in Yosemite National Park now have to deal with commutes that are significantly longer as a result of rockslides closing Highway 140.

One group of employees who work for a Yosemite concessionaire thought they had the problem licked when their company provided free, temporary housing inside the park.

But after it became apparent that the highway blockage would not end soon, concessionaire Delaware North kicked 27 employees and their families out of the housing.

The affected employees live in Midpines and Mariposa. Under the company's rules, those employees live too close to Yosemite to be housed inside the park, and the company needed the housing to make room for arriving employees.

But employees who work in the park and live outside may be glad their commute isn't any worse.

Primitivo Garcia's commute to the hotel restaurant he manages at Yosemite National Park's western edge used to be a scenic 20-minute drive through the narrow, winding canyon of the Merced River.

Now, the journey from Garcia's home in Midpines to Cedar Lodge takes him nearly 100 miles through a different gate and into Yosemite Valley, then back down Highway 140 to El Portal — a round trip of five to six hours on tortuous mountain roads and through the national park.

"I'm going to do this until my car dies," said Garcia, who estimates he's spending almost $200 a week to get to work. The cheapest gas in El Portal was selling for $4.02 a gallon last week.

Employees who live in Midpines or Mariposa typically spend an hour driving to work on Highway 140, but since the highway closure the employees have had to drive through Oakhurst to Highway 41 and into Yosemite, more than doubling their commute time.

Highway 140 was blocked by a series of rockslides that began April 29. The California Department of Transportation told residents last week about plans to build two temporary bridges over the Merced River to bypass the slide area, but that project may not be ready until at least the end of summer.

To help with lengthy commutes, Delaware North had offered housing as a convenience to its employees, said Lisa Edelheit, who works with Service Employees International Union in Oakland. The union represents 1,400 employees in Yosemite during peak season.

But employees were dismayed when the offer was abruptly revoked.

She said people living in company housing or dormitories were given 48 hours notice on June 8 to leave.

"We are concerned about the company's slow response and the lack of compassion for the employees who are commuting," Edelheit said.

Now, the housing situation in the park for many employees involves large rooms with cots, she said.

Delaware North is trying to ease the plight of its employees, spokesman Kenny Karst said.

He said the company has obtained 50 beds from Mariposa County's Office of Emergency Services and bought another 125 beds that will arrive soon.

"We do have limited temporary housing, but nothing that I would call long-term," Karst said.

The company is running a shuttle bus twice daily between the park and Bootjack for $3 a ride. He said employees are responsible for getting to Bootjack from Midpines or Mariposa.

Delaware North also sent a questionnaire to employees Wednesday to compile a list of their needs, Karst said.

Both the union and the company said they are working to develop more flexible work schedules, respond to child-care needs and find emergency overnight sleeping accommodations in the park for employees who may have trailers or recreational vehicles.

The park service and Delaware North have limited housing available, but the company is making "every effort" to alleviate concerns of its employees.

And, Karst said, the company is about two weeks away from opening several hundred new housing units in the park to replace homes destroyed by the 1997 floods.