Newsroom

visitors to Mount Rushmore will glimpse part of the behind the scenes

preparations that goes into producing one of the nation’s highest rated

fireworks shows. A state-of-the-art temporary rope tramway, used to

ferry supplies to the top of the memorial, will be installed as crews

ready the memorial for the annual Independence Day Celebration.

The tramway, which consists of a 660-foot highline rope and trolley

pulley system, will temporarily connect the Presidential Trail at the

base of the memorial to a tripod mounted atop the figure of President

Roosevelt. Firework loads and equipment will be secured to the pulley

and pulled to the top of the sculpture using an electrical winch.

The highline rope and trolley system will be clearly visible to visitors

during their stop at the memorial. The tram is being set up in the same

location where a tram existed in the 1930s during construction of the

sculpture. The tramway will remain in place through Saturday, June 30.

Following the celebrations, the tramway will be reinstalled on July 6

and 7 to remove firework material from the top of the memorial. The

Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society donated the funding for the

tramway in 2006.

Additional information on the Independence Day Celebration is available

on the park web site at