YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) - With a weakening economy and a national mortgage crisis, Yellowstone National Park has benefited from a construction slowdown.

One effect has been more bidders for park projects and, in some cases, lower materials costs.

Yellowstone has been able to polish off several construction projects this summer, and begin construction of a new Old Faithful visitor center.

The old visitor center, an A-frame structure built in 1972, provided 14,500 square feet of space.

Construction of the new facility stalled in 2006 after only one bid was received and it didn't match the $26 million the park had budgeted.

So CTA Architects Engineers of Billings went back to the drawing board and downsized the project from 33,000 square feet to 26,000.

The price tag for the new center's construction is more than $17.1 million.

Information from: Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com