The National Park Service last week released its deferred maintenance statistics for national parks. The $11.49 billion nationwide total was up from the $11.3 billion reported at the end of 2013 and includes Mount Rainier National Park, which listed a backlog of deferred maintenance projects totaling nearly $300 million.

Deferred maintenance is necessary work on infrastructure like roads and bridges, visitor centers, trails and campgrounds that has been put off for more than a year. Aging facilities, increasing use of park facilities and insufficient maintenance funding contribute to the growing backlog.“If funded, the National Park Service’s 2016 budget request will allow us to restore several of our highest priority non-transportation assets to good condition,” said Randy King, Mount Rainier National Park superintendent.

Park roads and bridges account for about half of the overall NPS maintenance backlog, and more than two-thirds of the maintenance backlog at Mount Rainier National Park.

“President Obama’s proposal to fund nationally significant transportation projects could address some of the National Park Service’s large, critical deferred maintenance transportation projects,” King said. “Completing those projects would pave the way for many of the hundreds of millions of visitors that come to national parks each year.”

The National Park Service’s overall budget request for non-transportation assets includes an increase of $242.8 million across operations and construction accounts, in combination with a mandatory proposal to provide $300 million annually over three years.