Carlsbad Caverns elevator still not fixed ahead of July 4th holiday

There could be long lines at Carlsbad Caverns National Park during one of the tourist attraction’s biggest weekends since a deadline to modernize the park’s main elevators has been repeatedly missed.

Park spokesman Michael Larson says the upcoming Fourth of July weekend is usually a busy time and there’s still work that needs to be done on the primary elevators.

That means visitors must either use a smaller secondary elevator or hike more than a mile into the caves via the natural entrance.

The primary elevator system went out of service in November 2015 when a motor shaft sheared off.

Work to repair and modernize the elevators was supposed to be done in the spring. The deadline was pushed to June 15 and now it’s still unclear when the elevators will be ready.