Several activities are taking place this summer in the Moose-Wilson Corridor to improve safety and the visitor experience. These activities include dust abatement, road grading and survey work.
The unpaved section of the Moose-Wilson Road in Grand Teton National Park will be temporarily closed for seasonal dust abatement beginning 4 a.m. Tuesday, June 5 and will reopen by 8 a.m. Thursday, June 7. This routine dust abatement application happens several times during the summer on the approximately one-mile unpaved section of the seven-mile road.
During the dust abatement application June 5-7, motorists and bicyclists should plan to use an alternate route as this temporary closure will prevent making a ‘through trip’ on the Moose-Wilson Road from Granite Canyon Entrance Station to the Teton Park Road at Moose, Wyoming. This is the first of three scheduled dust abatement treatments for the 2018 season.
For those wishing to reach the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve or Death Canyon Trailhead, access will be possible by heading south from Moose. Electronic signs will be placed on Wyoming Highway 390 and near Moose to alert park visitors and local residents of the scheduled road closure.
The product used for dust abatement is a slurry of magnesium chloride—the same product that is used to treat dirt roads in and around Jackson Hole. This product coats the road surface, but it can also adhere to the undercarriage of vehicles. Motorists who drive the unpaved portion of the Moose-Wilson Road after it reopens on Thursday may want to rinse off their vehicles to eliminate any residue.
In addition, the unpaved section of the Moose-Wilson Road will be graded this summer to maintain a better and safer driving surface between dust abatement applications. To minimize the impact to visitors, the additional grading operations will be conducted at night between the hours of 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. Three grading operations are planned for one night in late June, mid-August, and late September. The unpaved section of the road will be closed to public access during these night grading operations.
Dust abatement and grading operations will improve visitor safety and experience and will continue until the unpaved section of the Moose-Wilson Road is reconstructed and paved, as determined in the Moose-Wilson Corridor Comprehension Management Plan Record of Decision. The park is working in partnership with Federal Highway Administration to create a preliminary design for the unpaved section, as well as other improvements to the road. Initial work related to paving is anticipated to begin in late fall 2019.
Beginning June 8 through June 22, geotechnical surveying will be conducted along the entire length of the Moose-Wilson Road between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. The road will remain open, but traffic delays up-to-15 minutes are expected, as well as some areas that will be limited to alternating one-way traffic. The surveys will determine subsurface conditions along the road that will be used in the design of road improvements.
Earlier this spring park crews implemented drainage improvements along the northern section of the Moose-Wilson Road south of Sawmill Pond due to significant groundwater flooding. At the same time, roadside barriers were installed to minimize damage to roadside vegetation and protect the new drainage structures.
Roadwork schedules may change, or be delayed, due to weather conditions, equipment malfunction, or other extenuating circumstances.
Jeff
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
No comments:
Post a Comment