Officials at Grand Canyon National Park say crews are making progress in building a new Transcanyon Waterline.
The project began on the South Rim nearly a year ago and so far, they’ve completed work on raw water tanks, staging areas and roads and support facilities.
Construction on a water treatment plant and helibase infrastructure are also underway along with work on the waterline itself in the canyon’s interior.
Sections of the Bright Angel and Tonto trails will remain closed in the coming months and crews will replace and upgrade water distribution lines at Havasupai Gardens and the Mile-and-a-Half and Three-Mile resthouses.
The trails are set to fully open by mid-April. Officials plan to complete the $200 million waterline replacement project by 2027.
The waterline was built in the 1960s and pipes water 12-and-a-half miles across the Grand Canyon from Roaring Springs near the North Rim to residents and visitors at the South Rim.
The aging infrastructure commonly suffers breaks that often take days or weeks to repair, can cost tens of thousands of dollars and disrupt water delivery.
According to the National Park Service, since 2010 there have been 85 major breaks in the line.
The new waterline will be designed to last more than 50 years.