"Catastrophic" failure at Teton Pass

As mentioned yesterday, Teton Pass has been closed since yesterday morning due to a mudslide near milepost 15. However, sometime during the early overnight hours, the road completely collapsed near milepost 12.8. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) said crews were working to repair a crack in the pavement at milepost 12.8 when the road "catastrophically failed." Fortunately, no one was injured, nor was any equipment damaged. Here's a photo of the landslide from WYDOT:

Yesterday morning, WYDOT closed Wyoming 22 at Teton Pass due to a mudslide. The mudslide came down near milepost 15, breaching both lanes of travel. Crews had been working to clear the debris, but additional material continued to flow onto the roadway. Further up the road a major crack in the pavement formed near milepost 12.8. The crack was first detected on Thursday after a motorcyclist hit the rupture and crashed into the guardrail.

Here's a photo of the crack before the catastrophic failure occurred:

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon met with state officials this morning from WYDOT and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security to coordinate a response. In a press release, Gordon stated:

"WYDOT geologists and engineers will be on site today to conduct an assessment and develop a long-term solution to rebuild the roadway. At this point, we do not have an estimated timeline for the road to reopen. I recognize the impacts this closure has to Teton County residents, regional commuters and the local economy. We will continue to provide updates on the road status as additional information becomes available."

WYDOT Director Darin Westby posted this statement on the agency's social media outlets:

”We understand this highway is a lifeline for commuters, deliveries, medical care access and tourism, especially with limited alternatives and the summer season upon us. WYDOT engineers, surveyors and geologists mobilized quickly to try to maintain highway viability as long as possible, but catastrophic failure could not be avoided. WYDOT remains on site decisively engaged on fixing the road and restoring connectivity to the Teton Valley. Safety is our utmost priority, and we ask that recreationists and curious residents avoid the area until it can be stabilized.”

The impact of this on residents, workers and visitors cannot be understated.

Update: WYDOT just published this video of drone footage from the slide:





              ************************************************************************************

Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com