Road work underway at Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Marisa Peterson and Brandon Lindsey examine one of the many information displays at the visitor center at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge on Dec. 29, 2013. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Marisa Peterson and Brandon Lindsey examine one of the many information displays at the visitor center at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The main road into Desert National Wildlife Refuge is about to get a little worse on its way to getting a whole lot better.

Visitors to the refuge 20 miles north of Las Vegas on U.S. Highway 95 can expect delays in the coming months as a 4-mile stretch of Corn Creek Road is paved from the highway to Desert’s $12 million visitor center that opened at the end of 2013.

The road work began March 18 and is scheduled for completion by the end of July.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge, is cautioning motorists to expect short delays of no more than 20 minutes on Corn Creek Road.

Desert National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1936 in large part to protect desert bighorn sheep living in the aptly named Sheep Mountains.

At 1.6 million acres, it remains the largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states.

More information about the refuge and updates on the road work are available online at www.fws.gov/refuge/desert/.