“Is the Teton Pass reopening project moving too quickly?” – WYDOT responds to councilwoman’s concerns

UPDATE June 18, 2024: JACKSON, Wyoming (KIFI) - The project to re-open the Teton Pass continues, as crews in Wyoming work at what they call "the big fill" slide.

But some members of the Teton County community are voicing concern that the project is moving too quickly.

In a new editorial, Councilwoman Jessica Chambers calls the mudslide that closed the pass an "act of God" that saved lives.

She's believes WYDOT failed to see the warning signs when 8 inch deep cracks appeared in the bend of Highway 22.

"Geologists and engineers were on site Thursday, June 7, 2024 to evaluate the roadway cracks at
milepost 12.8. At that point WYDOT determined that a surface patch of the pavement at this
bend would make the roadway safe for travel. Given the embankment's total failure within the
next 24 hours, how could these professionals have been so mistaken?" writes Chambers.

Now that WYDOT is working to reopen the pass, she's concerned that they're not taking the time to conduct the safety assessments necessary to ensure there won't be further issues.

"I think there's a lot of rush to get the pass back open for the workers commuting and for the tourists that were coming from Idaho," said Clements. "But moving at such a clip is likely going to cause the delays to be much longer, in the timeline. And if this fix fails, there is nowhere else on that bend that we can put in another reroute."

I brought these concerns to the engineers and geologists behind the project. Engineer Bob Hammond was monitoring the site at the time of the collapse.

"We watched it for 7 or 8 hours and there was no movement at all after that was patched. If there was movement, it definitely would have triggered, that passed to closed," Hammond said.

"We did try to patch it and maintain traffic," adds WYDOT district engineer John Eddins. "But as soon as things started to accelerate and we were seeing inch, inch per hour or half inch per hour, inch per hour, then we shut it down." 

In her editorial, Chambers writes, "A thorough geotechnical investigation takes several weeks, with more time needed for analysis and design. (I verified Jones’s assessment with other geotechnical engineers.) WYDOT has been performing borings at the site since the failure, but WYDOT has proceeded with a repair plan before completing this geotechnical investigation."

According to WYDOT engineers, the emergency response from the state helps to streamline the process, bringing together scientists and engineers from across Wyoming.

WYDOT Chief Engineer Geologist, James Dahill, said they've been monitoring the curve along the "Big Fill" slide for over a year.

When asked if the pass failure could have been predicted, Dahill laughed.

"I'm not in the business of predicting, I guess those geologist in Jackson might be in the business of predicting stuff," Dahill said sarcastically.

"There's a lot of deliberate engineering going on to make sure we are protecting the safety the traveling public and, and doing things deliberately," said Eddins.

Eddins said they had a response team surveying the site the day of the landslide. Since then ,engineers and geologists across the state have tracked their progress and tested their design to ensure public safety.

"All the time we're doing this, we're making sure that the footprint of our detour is well outside of the the the possible impact zone from the landslide," said Eddings.

Hammond says their crews are working around the clock to finish the detour.

"We're finishing up our dirt work," said Hammond. "We still have crushed base to put down, pavement, barriers and some other safety features for signs."

He believes the temporary road should be completed within "a weeks time, give or take."

For more information on the project, click HERE.

ORIGINAL STORY:

JACKSON, Wyoming (KIFI) - Work continues to reopen the Teton Pass. Crews in Wyoming have moved a lot of dirt and are preparing to place a crushed base later this week - according to the WYDOT facebook page.

However, some members of the Teton County community are voicing their concerns that the project is moving too quickly with too little communication.

Jackson town council member Jessica Chambers says "there is no room for error" in the project.

In a news editorial, Chambers writes, "If this situation is mishandled, as it appears to be, the long term damage to workers and tourism will be far worse."

She says that WYDOT failed to see the warning signs when 8 inch deep cracks appeared in the bend of Highway 22.

"Geologists and engineers were on site Thursday, June 7, 2024 to evaluate the roadway cracks at
milepost 12.8. At that point WYDOT determined that a surface patch of the pavement at this
bend would make the roadway safe for travel. Given the embankment's total failure within the
next 24 hours, how could these professionals have been so mistaken?" writes Chambers.

Chambers says that it was fortunate no one was on the road during the collapse because of a mudslide that forced WYDOT to close the highway.

Chambers said she has spoken to a handful of geologists and engineers who share her concerns. She is concerned they're not taking the time to conduct safety assessments to ensure there won't be further issues.

"I think there's a lot of rush to get the pass back open for the workers commuting and for the tourists that were coming from Idaho," Chambers told Local News 8. "But moving at such a clip is likely going to cause the delays to be much longer, in the timeline. And if this fix fails, there is nowhere else on that bend that we can put in another reroute."

Chambers says she's not writing to be an alarmist, but rather to ask for increased communication between the town leadership and transportation department. Which she believes would give the the assurance to people traveling from Victor to Jackson that the road will be safe to drive on.

"If they can prove that they have undertaken the appropriate measures to understand the situation or the issues on the pass, that would satisfy a lot of the concerns that I have, and a lot of the concerns that these other experts and professionals have," said Chambers. "But honestly, I do not think that is possible because of the timeline."

In a recent press release, WYDOT wrote that "geologists and engineers are evaluating the area and putting together a long term plan to rebuild the road."

"There is no current estimated timeline for that construction," they said.

Local News 8 has reached out to the Wyoming Department of Transportation for a response as well as some additional information on the reconstruction plans to address safety concerns.

This is a developing story, and we will update as more information becomes available.