December 30, 2024 - DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – Preservation specialists from the National Park Service (NPS) are working to protect three historic wooden towers in Saline Valley. Additional work is planned for Tower #1, which was toppled in April 2024. 

The Saline Valley Salt Tram, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built by the Saline Valley Salt Company in 1911 to transport salt over the Inyo Mountains. While the first four towers are located within Death Valley National Park, most of the tramway crosses land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Specialists from the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center recently used ropes, winches, and supports to pull two leaning towers back to vertical. Over the course of one and a half days, each tower was carefully repositioned. Once upright, the towers were stabilized with wooden braces. A third tower was disassembled and removed for more extensive repairs. The restoration team plans to return the repaired tower this spring.

These towers had been leaning due to the effects of age and weathering, requiring immediate attention to preserve the integrity of this historic structure. This project is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.


A NPS preservationist attaches ropes to begin the stabilization process.
Credit: NPS


A NPS preservationist pulls the leaning tower back to proper position and attaches cross bracing.
Credit: NPS


Salt tram after being pulled upright. Wooden braces have been added for stabilization. 
Credit: NPS
Death Valley National Park is the homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone and preserves natural resources, cultural resources, exceptional wilderness, scenery, and learning experiences within the nation’s largest conserved desert landscape and some of the most extreme climate and topographic conditions on the planet. Learn more at www.nps.gov/deva
Source: NPS.