Wyoming’s Teton Pass Rebuild Has A Long Way To Go

Mountains are always slipping, sliding, and collapsing. It's what they do.

So building roads on them means constantly watching what will happen next and repairing the damage.

Earlier this spring an important Wyoming highway, from Jackson Hole to Idaho, collapsed one one of its tightest turns.

Road crews quickly got busy making a temporary route by tightening the turn.

Then the work of repairing the orgional road began.

So, where is that work today, as we have almost reached the fall season?

It doesn't look like much has been done.

But most of the work has been in testing the area to see what will hold up.

A lot has been done, but there is a long way to go.

It will take over a year to complete.

The video below features a gentleman who knows a lot about this kind of road work. He understands what WYDOT is doing but is also a bit critical of their work.

In this video, I provide a new update on the status of efforts to restore the highway embankment of the Teton Pass Highway (Wyoming Highway 22) to its pre-failure configuration.

I also present key findings from Wyoming DOT's Baseline Geotechnical Report that the issued on August 23, 2024, for the Big Fill Slide and subsequent investigation.

I also show you some awesome footage of the current slope reconstruction activities that I obtained from drone footage from a flight that I commissioned for this video. (Casey Jones - Professional Engineer).

“It’s a proud day, the culmination of several weeks of hard work and professionalism,” said WYDOT Director Darin J. Westby.

Despite some media speculation, the temporary fix was no more than an inconvenience to tourists and those who commute to Jackson for work.

Teton Pass WYO 22 update:  We are getting closer! 

Paving is underway!  (WYDOT).

Below is a rendering released by WYDOT showing how they have shortened.

As folks use the new, temporary fix work will continue on the collapsed section of the road.

Repairing the old section will not be easy and it will take a little over a year to complete at current estimates.

The fix goes beyond filling in the slide.

The cause of the slide is being addressed with new drainage ideas to keep the flow of water from causing another collapse.

The cause of the damage was nothing new or unexpected

Road collapses along with mudslides and rock slides from above are common are common on mountain roads all over the world.

Mountains, especially young ones like the Tetons, are always shifting and moving and road crews are always waiting to deal with the next problem.

Below is what the temporary fix currently looks like.

There will probably be little fanfare when the detour opens.

There will be a lot of relief from those who work in Jackson and live in Idaho.

Teton Pass cuts their daily commute down to about a half hour, one way.

That's much better than the two or more hours, one way, that it's currently taking.