ANCHORAGE — The only road into Alaska’s Denali National Park is expected to completely reopen Tuesday if the weather cooperates and steep terrain nearby remains stable.
A mudslide July 31 closed the road a mile beyond the Eielson Visitor Center, where most tour buses turn around to return to the park entrance.
The slide put an estimated 8,000 cubic yards of material on a 100-foot section of the road and covered it about 10 feet deep.
Park officials in an announcement say steep terrain and near-record rain in July that saturated fine-grain, ancient volcanic ash contributed to the slide.
Park geologist Denny Capps says slides may become more common as permafrost melts and weather events become more intense.
Buses have been allowed past the slide area twice daily.
