Big Bend Park Avoids Closure, Water System Upgrades Next

0:00It's April 6th. Welcome in. This is El Paso News today, where local news meets AI. Big Ben National Park just dodged a big closure in its Chiso Space and Area. A major renovation project got scrapped right before it was supposed to kick off this main. That included fixing the water system and upgrading the 60-year-old Chiso's mountains lodge, which has a restaurant, campground, and visitor center. The National Park Service pointed to unexpected hurdles that stretched out the timeline way beyond what they planned. Plus, over the past five years since they got approval in funding, construction costs shot up, leaving them short on budget. A former park ranger voiced strong frustration early on about shutting down part of the park for this work, calling it a huge misstep. Luckily, the whole park stays fully open right now, so no disruptions for visitors hitting those epic trails and views. Now, officials are digging into their finances and hunting for other ways to push forward. They're prepping a contract just for the water system rehab,

1:01with a schedule coming soon, while holding off on the rest of the upgrades. They're still committed to sorting out the laundry build and other fixes down the line, and they'll drop updates as things move. Keep an eye on Big Ben. Those improvements are coming, just on a smarter timeline.