Amazingly, ‘Catastrophic’ Teton Pass Failure Fixed In 3 Weeks, To Open Friday

TETON PASS — The Wyoming Department of Transportation wrapped up a press conference at high noon Tuesday with plenty of high expectations.

About two dozen media and local officials donned orange vests and were bussed to 7,740 feet above sea level some 1,500 feet above Wilson, Wyoming, and Victor, Idaho, the mountain base communities that typically see about 15,000 vehicles roll through on a summer day.

There were there to hear the how’s and why’s a heavily trafficked mountain pass failed catastrophically June 8.

“It’s a proud day, the culmination of several weeks of hard work and professionalism,” said WYDOT Director Darin J. Westby, beginning his address to media Tuesday morning.

For starters, and to answer the pressing question, Teton Pass should be open (fingers crossed) Friday. That would be three weeks since the landslide that has since closed the section of Highway 22 that takes up and over the Teton Range.

Incredibly fast?

Certainly, considering early estimates from armchair geologists and rumors around Jackson had the closure lasting months at a minimum.

Westby himself admitted to a similar timeline when he first heard a section of the highway had slid down the mountain. But when Westby first consulted department engineer Bob Hammond, many of his initial concerns melted away faster than the mountain curve section known as “The Big Fill” did earlier this month.

“We all saw that viral video of the mountain slope crumbling away. And many of us thought this fix would take months, maybe a year,” Westby said. “And then this guy, I call him ‘Mr. We Got This,’ Bob Hammond assures me, ‘We got this.’”

Interagency Cooperation

Hammond would know. He’s at least two decades into a career with the highway department that has had him patching frost heaves, shoring up bridges and dealing with numerous other landslides in the region.

For Hammond, and the rest of his local compatriots at WYDOT, Teton Pass has always been a bear. Winter adds another element of danger that makes this stretch of Highway 22 a white-knuckle ride on a good day.

Hammond said WYDOT lucked out when it came to making a three-week timeline on remediation even possible.

“Things just fell into place, honestly. The emergency declaration allows us to speed up the bidding process. We received three competitive bids and were able to select a contract (Evans Construction) within days for something that normally takes many months,” Hammond said. “In addition, we lucked out finding the box culvert for the mudslide area — a really nice one, by the way.”

Westby said WYDOT owes huge thanks to several entities that all recognized the severity of the situation, two cooperative communities severed and a major ingress/egress to a resort town that sees some 3.5 million visitors over a summer season.

“We had folks calling us the next day asking, ‘What do you need? How can we help?’” Westby shared.

Idaho Department of Transportation located miles of Jersey Curb (concrete barricade), both Teton counties in Idaho and Wyoming offered their assistance, and Gov. Mark Gordon opened access to millions of dollars in federal money with his declaration of an emergency less than 24 hours after the landslide.

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

Westby added the department is prepared for just such a scenario as the landslide on Teton Pass.

“Emergency repair protocol is in place, and WYDOT is prepared with a team of experts to act quickly when necessary,” he said.

All Hands On Deck

With money freed up, the other concerns facing WYDOT were sourcing materials, conducting geological studies in weeks rather than years, and throwing every available hard hat they could find on the job.

Material sources turned out to be fortuitous in favor of the state highway department. Geologists already under the employ of WYDOT were called to the scene. And Evans Construction is going gangbusters on the reconstruction.

“I don't know if many people know this, but WYDOT has some of the finest geologists and engineers in the country on staff,” Westby said. “They were able to mobilize quickly and get their drilling rigs here and take soil samples and do the things they do in an expediated manner.”

Hammond said his big takeaway has been how communities in two states have stepped up and worked together toward a solution when the chips were down.

“Everyone here knows what’s at stake here. Look at Evans, for example. From the very beginning they’ve had two crews working 12-hour shifts round-the-clock, every day of the week on this,” Hammond said. “Evans said we were fortunate they were a week ahead of schedule on their other summer projects.

“When this is all said and done, they will be two weeks behind on their other work, but they are just one example of locals that have answered the call in desperate times.”

How fast are crews working? During the half-hour presser held just a few yards from the site dump truck vibrators, back-up beepers and the constant rumble of compaction rollers often drowned out the words of Westby, Hammond and the governor’s spokesperson Sara DiRienzo.

In that 30-minute span alone, Evans finished paving nearly an eighth of a mile of the curve.

What Will It Look Like?

Although the fix will end up being quickly accomplished, it will be safe and more functional than originally thought. Westby said plans for a quick “shoofly” on the inside of the failed portion of road has now been upgraded to a serviceable highway.

When the bypass is ready for traffic (again, WYDOT says it is targeting Friday) it will be a paved roadway with two 12-foot lanes, one in each direction, just like the rest of Highway 22.

The new detour will also have concrete barriers protecting motorists from hazards. It is constructed on the interior of the original curve away from the unstable slide area.

Speed limit will be reduced to a posted 20 mph through the tight curved section. This is due to a variety of factors, Westby said, including concern for the significant increase in grade to 16%, as well as the ability of semitrucks and other longer vehicles being able to navigate the sharp turn.

The good news is WYDOT expects no weight limitations on driving over the pass. Initially, the department thought it might have to restrict 18-wheelers and heavier vehicles, but information specialist Stephanie Harsha said the normal 60,000-pound gross vehicle weight limit will be the only restriction.

Will It Hold?

WYDOT geologist James Dahill, for one, is confident that the fill and rock added underneath the new bypass is stable and able to handle the traffic.

Crews moved tens of thousands of tons of fill and rock from the nearby portion that failed to shore up the section of bypass on Highway 22.

“We took what was salvageable from that and moved it, using it as a toe for this new section,” Hammond said. “What failed in that landslide was not the fill material but the native soils way underneath the original fill from the 1960s.”

A “perfect storm” of weather conditions caused the landslide and mudslide earlier this month, Westby said.

“There were rapid warming temperatures, rain on top of snow, and several days of no overnight freeze to slow down the melt,” he said.

All mountain roads include a risk of geologic movement that could compromise roadways. It’s part and parcel of Wyoming. WYDOT actively monitors active areas like Teton Pass for drainage and soil conditions that could degrade highways.

While WYDOT geologists were aware the Big Fill was a problem area, there was no indication prior to June 6 that slight geologic movement experienced over decades would become an urgent situation.

An inclinometer in the Big Fill area, which gives record of subsurface movement, was read May 15. Geologists saw no unmanageable movement (less than 0.1 of an inch per year) up to that point.

Then on Thursday, June 6, when crews responded to the report of a crack in the road, WYDOT geologists were notified and systematic evaluation of the entire area began. Scientists were concerned enough to close the road overnight when it failed completely.

More permanent reconstruction plans are underway. WYDOT engineers are working internally with their geologists, environmental services and planning and design departments to develop long term reconstruction options.

The entire corridor was already scheduled for a makeover beginning in 2025.

Jake Nichols can be reached at jake@cowboystatedaily.com.