Jewel Cave Visitor Center Expansion Project Underway
CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — One of the longest caves in the world is getting a bigger visitor center.
Work began Monday on a $671,000 expansion project for the visitor center at Jewel Cave National Monument in western South Dakota.
“This expansion will improve the visitor experience by making it easier for visitors to enter and exit the cave, as well as providing more space for those waiting for a cave tour,” Acting Superintendent Donald Hart said.
The National Park Service has said the15,000-square-foot expansion will mean more space for environmental education, including classrooms, theater space and educational display space.
The project is scheduled to be completed in February. The center will remain open for regular hours during construction, and the cave tour schedule won’t be impacted.
Jewel Cave is 13 miles west of Custer. It has more than 177 miles of mapped and surveyed passages and is considered the third-longest known cave in the world. It’s also home to nine bat species, including the rare Townsend’s big-eared bat.
Jewel Cave was established as a national monument in 1908. The visitor center opened in 1972 and has seen only minor modifications over its 43-year history, Hart said.
Last year, Jewel Cave upgraded its parking area at a cost of $2.5 million and worked with the state Department of Transportation to rebuild a dangerous, winding stretch of U.S. Highway 16 leading to the site.
