News Media Wrong About Effects Of Wyoming Road Collapse

Once again outrageous claims made by many media outlets have been proven false.

When Wyoming's Teton Pass suffered a landslide a week and a half ago many news outlets ran screaming headlines about how the closing of this vital road would devastate Jackson's tourist industry and cause "catastrophic harm" to workers who commuted from Idaho to Jackson every day.

However, a recent article from Wyoming Public Media shows that the closing of the highway has been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

The story starts by following one young lady on a bus, provided for workers who now must take a longer route to and from their jobs.

“It is just longer, not any worser though,” Wendy Herrera said. “I think it’s all about attitude.”

The extended commute for workers has proved to be difficult.

But those issues will only last a total of two weeks and most of that time has passed.

WYDOT's temporary fix for the road will open the much shorter route by the middle of next week.

Despite the screaming headlines at the time of the collapse, there has been no noticeable decline in the number of tourists visiting the Tetons.

While commuting to and from work has cost time, it has not been anywhere near "catastrophic" for the workers in Jackson.

On the morning of June 8, a landslide destroyed a segment of WY 22, severing a major commuter route between Jackson and Idaho.

WYDOT has been working to reopen the road to traffic by building a temporary detour.

Crews have been working around the clock to carve a temporary route that would reopen the road.

Fixing the original road will take some time.

WYDOT has been keeping us up to date on their progress with daily reports.

They have been using drones to provide the public with photos and videos of their progress.

The WYDOT video below features Bob Hammond, WYDOT Resident Engineer 

The temporary route can never be a permanent fix.

It should be open sometime in the middle of next week.

The new turn will be inside of the old, broken, turn.

It will be at a much slower speed limit.

WYDOT posted the following photos on their Facebook page to show how they are doing, along with a press release that you can read below.

It looks like a lot of progress has been made.

But there is much more work to be done than seen here.

They have made some headway on the temporary road that would bypass the landslide.

WYDOT has provided the following update:

Teton Pass remains closed as crews continue work on the interim detour for the Big Fill landslide at milepost 12.8. WYDOT and contractors have also begun work on drainage improvements for the mudslide at milepost 15.

The Big Fill Slide, milepost 12.8 update-crews are nearing completion of the dirt work to construct a temporary detour around the impacted slide area. Crews will then begin preparing the area for paving operations.

Officials hope to have the detour paved by the middle of next week and open to traffic soon after.

The new detour will feature a paved roadway with two 12-foot lanes, one in each direction.

The detour will also have concrete barriers protecting motorists from any hazards.

The detour has been constructed on the interior of the curve, away from the unstable slide area. In addition, crews are using quality materials to build a solid foundation for the road.

Geologists are also mapping the site to confirm there are better native soils under the roadway.

Crews have taken material off the old embankment to use as fill, which will relieve the driving forces that are pushing on the slide.

However, the detour will create a slightly sharper curve and steeper grade.

WYDOT plans to reduce the speed through the area to accommodate the grade and increase curvature.

There will be advanced signage warning drivers of the reduced speed and any other applicable restrictions.

More permanent reconstruction plans are underway.

WYDOT engineers are working internally with their geologists, environmental services, and planning and design departments to develop long-term reconstruction options.

In the meantime, commuters are still being asked to detour around, using US 26 through Swan Valley and then into the Snake River Canyon.