Three weeks after a landslide, Wyoming will reopen a highway critical for commuters
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Crews were almost done building a temporary route on Tuesday around a landslide that closed a vital road for thousands of workers in a western Wyoming resort town.
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming-Teton-Pass-Damage Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
Wyoming Department of Transportation officials were eyeing Friday to reopen Wyoming Highway 22. The road over Teton Pass near the Idaho state line has been closed since the landslide sent both lanes crashing into a deep ravine June 8.
This photo provided by Wyoming Highway Patrol shows a damaged section of Teton Pass near Jackson, Wyo., on Saturday, June 8, 2024, that officials said had “catastrophically failed.” (Wyoming Highway Patrol via AP)
No one was hurt when the pavement gave way. The road was already closed because another landslide had washed mud and debris across the road nearby.
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
Yet the collapse was a big headache for thousands of commuters. Many people work in Jackson — a ski and tourism hub at the doorstep of Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks where the average home costs millions — and live in more affordable eastern Idaho.
This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies a damaged section of Teton Pass near Jackson, Wyo., Tuesday, June 11, 2024. ((Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)
The destroyed highway has been forcing them to take a different route to the south, adding over an hour to their commute each way.
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
Cars will need to slow down through the temporary section to 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour) but won't have to stop, said Bob Hammond, an engineer with the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The two paved lanes will span about 600-700 feet (180-230 meters).
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
“We have a steeper grade, which really isn’t that big of a problem. But the turns are a little tighter,” Hammond said during a news media site tour Tuesday.
Bob Hammond, WYDOT engineer speaks about road construction on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
A permanent fix costing perhaps upward of $20 million will take longer, Hammond said.
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)
Construction take place on the Teton Pass on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 near Jackson, Wyo. Wyoming officials are expected to reopen this week a large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming that collapsed earlier this month, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson. Wyoming officials will provide media with a tour of the area on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Natalie Behring)