Large sections of a mountain highway in Wyoming have collapsed, a key transportation hub connecting small towns in eastern Idaho with the tourist destination of Jackson.
JACKSON, Wyoming — A large section of a winding mountain pass in Wyoming has collapsed, opening a large gap in the highway and cutting off a vital commuter route between a small town in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson, authorities said Saturday.
Aerial photos and drone footage of the collapse site showed Teton Pass Road collapsing into a deep fissure, with large sections of trail completely gone. Parts of a guardrail hung into the cavity, and orange traffic barrels marked off danger zones. The road was closed at the time of the collapse.
The first section of the road collapsed on Thursday, when cracks and sinkholes in the road led to a motorbike crash.
Geologists and engineers dispatched to the area that day noticed “that crack and the cliffs were starting to move significantly,” said Stephanie Harsha, spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Transportation District 3. Paving crews made temporary repairs to the road, and traffic resumed that evening.
But that didn’t last long, as maintenance crews were dispatched to respond to a landslide that occurred just before dawn Friday a few miles away, closing the road again.
Crews then noticed the damage to the pavement was more noticeable. Crews who were looking for a detour around that section left for the night, but “by 5 a.m. this morning, WYDOT discovered the road had completely collapsed,” Harsha said Saturday.
“We are very fortunate that no workers were injured and no equipment was damaged,” she said. “We currently have engineers and geologists conducting a geological assessment of the pass. They’ve been looking at the pass throughout the day.”
The Department of Transportation announced via social media that the road had “catastrophically failed” at milepost 12.8.
The road is a key highway for people who live across the border in Idaho and work in Jackson, an upscale city near the popular Grand Teton National Park, and it was not immediately clear how long it would take to reopen.
Harsha said the alternative route between Jackson and the Victor, Idaho, area would be a detour of more than 60 miles (97 kilometers) and “put a real strain on the commute.”
Gov. Mark Gordon signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency, which his office said will allow the state to obtain additional funding from the Federal Highway Administration to begin repair work.
The governor said in a statement that the Department of Transportation is working on “long-term solutions to rebuild this critical roadway.”
“We recognize that this closure will have a significant impact on Teton County residents, area commuters and the local economy,” Gordon said.
