Work on two road projects in Yellowstone National Park will be temporarily halted so visitors can travel through the park without delays over the Fourth of July weekend.

There will be no road work, delays or overnight closures on the road between Norris and Madison through Gibbon Canyon from 8 a.m. Friday until 8 a.m. Monday.

Motorcyclists are urged to use caution traveling through the area due to loose gravel.

The cold-in-place recycling project under way between the Lewis River Bridge and the park's South Entrance will also be halted from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Monday.

The work is the first of several large projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Employees of Century Companies Inc. of Lewistown began work Monday on an 11-mile section of road between the Lewis River Bridge and the park's South Entrance.

Road crews are using heavy equipment to remove and recycle the asphalt and repair the road surface. The total cost of the project is nearly $1.2 million.

Visitors can expect up to 30-minute delays while construction is under way through early July. There will be no road closures associated with the project, and no construction work or delays from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.

This same section of road is part of 20 miles of highway that park road crews will chip seal in late July.

Earlier in the year, the park completed a $37,000 project to replace a failing steam line used for heating historic structures at Park Headquarters in Mammoth Hot Springs.

Yellowstone National Park is receiving $14.73 million in Recovery Act funding for 14 projects.

The projects are part of a $750 million investment in nearly 800 projects throughout the National Park Service, which was announced in late April by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Outside the park, there will be no delays Friday through Sunday on the section of U.S. 212 between the park's Northeast Entrance and Cooke City, and no delays on the Beartooth Highway between Clay Butte Lookout to the Montana/Wyoming state line from Friday noon until Monday morning.

Visitors should allow plenty of time to travel inside the park this weekend, as traffic and wildlife jams often cause delays. The maximum speed limit in park is 45 mph, unless otherwise posted.

While fireworks displays are held in many communities surrounding the park, none are offered inside the park. Fireworks are prohibited in Yellowstone National Park and on all national forest land surrounding the park.

Updated road information is available 24 hours a day at 307-344-2117. Calling 307-344-2114 will provide the current status of available camping and lodging in the park. Visitors can get to the latest weather forecast at 307-344-2113, or by listening to the NOAA Weather Radio station broadcasts from transmitters located at Mammoth Hot Springs and Grant Village.

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• Norris Back Basin temporarily closed