Paving work on a temporary detour around a collapsed section of Wyoming’s Teton Pass highway is expected to be completed this week, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) said Monday.

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WYDOT said crews are about halfway done with installing box culverts in the area that will improve drainage, and that paving operations for the detour are tentatively scheduled for Thursday.

Newsweek has contacted the Wyoming Department of Transportation for comment.

The Context

Teton Pass highway, which runs between Wyoming and Idaho, suffered a “major disruption” earlier this month after it was damaged in a landslide following snowmelts in the Teton Range.

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Images released by WYDOT showed that a large section of the road had completely collapsed.

At the time, WYDOT said crews were working in the area to construct a detour around the initial damage, but the landslide continued to move, leading to further damage. No crews were hurt in the process.

What We Know

The new detour will include a paved roadway with two 12-foot lanes, one in each direction. Concrete barriers will be in place to keep drivers safe from any hazards.

The detour is being constructed inside the curve, away from the unstable slide area. It will introduce a slightly sharper curve and steeper grade. To accommodate for this, WYDOT plans to reduce the speed limit in the area.

A WYDOT statement said that officials hope to have the detour paved and open to traffic by the end of the week.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has provided $6 million in emergency relief funding to offset the cost of repairs in the area.

“The Federal Highway Administration is working closely with the Wyoming Department of Transportation to repair the damage caused by the landslide at Teton Pass,” FHA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said in a news release on Friday.

“The Emergency Relief funding we are providing will help get repairs done as soon as possible and restore temporary access to the area during the busy summer tourist season.”

Views

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg referred to the road damage as “a major disruption for travelers.”

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon issued an Executive Order declaring an emergency in response to the “catastrophic failure” of the highway.

A press release accompanying the Executive Order directed WYDOT and the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security to “take all appropriate and necessary action, including, but not limited to, coordination of state and federal resources.”

The governor said in a statement: “I recognize the significant impacts this closure has to Teton County residents, regional commuters and the local economy.”

What’s next?

WYDOT have said that more permanent reconstruction plans are underway, and WYDOT engineers are working with geologists, planning and design departments, and environmental services to develop long-term reconstruction strategies.

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