New bill targets $12B backlog of National Park Service projects, including $1.1B in Va.

The National Park Service has a $12 billion backlog of maintenance issues across the United States— including $1.1 billion in Virginia.

The Great American Outdoors Act plans to tackle those problems that have plagued federal lands for years.

The legislation was championed by U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who 7 On Your Side first talked to about the maintenance problems last summer, after a sinkhole opened on the George Washington Parkway.

Warner said the bill includes his Restore Our Parks Act, which he claims would create up to 10,340 jobs across the Commonwealth.

“Over the past few years, I’ve been sounding the alarm on the mounting costs associated with repairing and maintaining our national park sites across the Commonwealth,” he said.