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Almost a decade after the Merced River swept away parts of Yosemite Lodge, it finally is time to rebuild — to demolish old buildings and pour concrete in paradise.
The millions of people who enjoy views of El Capitan and Half Dome are likely to notice dust flying in June at the lodge, which has operated with about half the number of rooms it had before the 1997 flood.
A new lodge, advertised as being out of the flood plain, unobtrusive and visitor-friendly, will emerge in 2008 and will include 90 new cottage rooms, park officials said. Yet after old buildings are torn down, the lodge will continue to have half the number of rooms as existed before the flood.
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Park visitors cross the main road in front of Yosemite Lodge on their way to Yosemite Falls. At peak times, cars waiting for people to cross the street cause backups on the road for miles. Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee |
One of the most notable changes: Traffic will be rerouted so people can avoid crossing a major road on their way to iconic Yosemite Falls. Visitors don't seem to mind the idea.
"We've come here for 25 years," said Bill Knott, 90, of Pasadena, who was visiting the park last week. "They need to do something about crossing that road."
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A couple walks along the Yosemite Lodge parking lot Wednesday as Yosemite Falls rages with spring runoff. A rebuilt lodge is planned to emerge in 2008, and officials plan to reroute traffic at the lodge so people can avoid crossing a major road on their way to the iconic falls in Yosemite National Park. Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee |
Not so fast, say environmental critics, whose opposition to this project dates back eight years. They say the new lodge would cater to wealthy people and does little for nature, despite National Park Service claims.
The critics talk about stopping the project in court even as the park service completes a deal with a contractor who likely will be paid tens of millions of dollars for the project.
"There is a lot of interest in a possible lawsuit," said George Whitmore, chairman of the Sierra Club Yosemite Committee.
Yosemite officials already have run a gauntlet of legal action for the lodge project, and they believe the rebuild is now in the clear. They also are under the gun from Congress to use an estimated $30 million in flood recovery money for the work.
The flood occurred in January 1997 when an unusual tropical storm dropped warm rain on a large Sierra snowpack, causing a lot of snow melt. The Merced River swamped Yosemite Valley campgrounds and sewage facilities. Some older cabins in the Yosemite Lodge complex simply floated away.
Federal lawmakers provided $176 million in flood repair money for the park. The park service repaired major damage to Highway 140, cleared out damaged buildings and completed renovations at many sites.
The lodge rebuild is considered a pivotal project, turning a hodgepodge of buildings into an organized resort. Planners said they believe people will be impressed with the changes.
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| Emergency employee housing, now known as the "train wreck," was put in place in the Yosemite Lodge complex after the 1997 flood. The buildings will be moved and replaced with more aesthetic housing as part of the Yosemite Lodge project to begin this summer. Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee |
Rothell and others say the restructured lodge will make a smaller footprint of development on the land. Before the flood, the lodge had 495 rooms, officials said. After the new construction, the total would be 247.
The street that leads to the lodge registration building will be converted into a pedestrian promenade as part of the road reconfiguration.
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Park visitors wait in front of the Yosemite Lodge's main entrance as a bus idles in the parking lot Wednesday. The Yosemite Lodge rebuilding plan will change the look of the main entrance as well as move the parking lot and buses to the outer edge of the complex. Craig Kohlruss / The Fresno Bee |
"Right now, you see people run out in the middle of the road when the traffic dies down to get a look at the falls," said park planner Linda Dahl. "People will be able to stroll down this promenade, see the falls easily and take pictures."
The street intersects with Northside Drive, which must be crossed to reach the Yosemite Falls trail. Northside is the only route out of the park from the east valley, and it becomes a bottleneck on busy summer days.
The park service will close the section of Northside Drive from Yosemite Creek Bridge to Camp Four, and build a new section closer to the river to bypass the bottleneck. The closed section of Northside Drive will become a bike and hiking trail.
The new alignment would completely remove cars and tour buses from the approaches to Yosemite Falls.
"There's a real problem with all the traffic leaving the park," Dahl said. "We have three people out there directing traffic at times."
The park service's solution, however, is a flash point among critics. Some say the park service could just install a signal light that would stop traffic when pedestrians push a button to cross.
Building the bypass road is too much, said Whitmore of the Sierra Club.
"It is actually a new, additional road," he said. "There would be a major new increase in asphalt. To refer to it as a rerouting or realignment probably makes people think the existing road would be removed. So it is the exact opposite of 'restoration.'"
He also questioned the park service's emphasis on views of Yosemite Falls: "It is assumed that nobody will want to look at the river, the meadows, or the world-class view of Sentinel Rock."
Another critic, Greg Adair of the Friends of Yosemite Valley, said the park should not be replacing rooms at all. He said many motel rooms have been added outside the park at communities such as El Portal.
"There's an orientation toward profitability inside the park," Adair said. "With all the rooms added around the park, it's not a good public policy choice to spend all this money on these rooms inside the park."
Adair's group spearheads a key federal lawsuit over the Merced River, which is Yosemite Valley's main stream and runs near the lodge. For environmentalists, the case is as much a battleground over Yosemite Valley building projects as it is a river protection case.
They hope the lodge project will be stopped if the lawsuit successfully pushes the park service to rethink its river protection plan and other plans around the valley.
But U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii is considering a park service motion to dismiss the case, and a decision could be made this month. If the case is dropped, environmentalists have other options, such as filing an appeal or a new lawsuit.
"Our group is going to preserve our rights," Adair said.
Tourists seem oblivious to the courtroom fight. The drama they notice this month is Yosemite Falls flowing wildly as warm weather sends more snow melt down the sheer cliffs.
Maryland residents Tim Davis and wife Jeanne crossed Northside Drive, which had only light traffic in the morning during midweek. They headed to the roaring sound in the distance where the falls blasts the ancient granite.
"I think you should favor pedestrians over the cars any day," said Tim. "Why not just make this a place for people to walk?"
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