WILSON, Wyo. — On Tuesday, June 25, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) invited members of the press and local and state legislators to partake in the Big Fill landslide media tour to visit the Teton Pass construction site and speak with WYDOT engineers and geologists.
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, a bus carried Pass visitors to an area located just east of the detour construction. Crews were busy paving the detour road in anticipation of its opening at the end of the week. An exact opening time has yet to be announced. WYDOT Director Darin Westby addressed the crowd, saying that crews have been working 12-hour days, seven days a week in preparation of opening the detour.
“It’s a proud day to be a Wyomingite and a Idahoan,” Westby said. “We understood what was at stake with this Pass being down, that’s why we put forward every man power, brain power and expertise to get the Pass open as quickly as possible without circumventing the safety aspect. Our mission is to provide a safe and effective transportation system.”
WYDOT Director Darin Westby talks to reporters. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Crews work to pave the detour road. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Visitors walk down to the detour construction site. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Visitors walk along the shoulder of the detour road. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Crews continue to work at the detour site. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Jackson Councilwoman Jessica Sell Chambers listens to WYDOT Geologist James Dahill answer questions about the detour’s stability. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson and Commissioner Chairwoman Natalia Macker wait to board the bus for departure. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail 
WYDOT Director Darin Westby speaks to the press at the detour construction site on Teton Pass on June 25. Photo: Leigh Reagan Smith // Buckrail
WYDOT Geologist James Dahill told Buckrail that he has the utmost confidence that the drier soil conditions, along with the rock foundation constructed at the base of the fill, has provided stability to support the detour for the traveling public.
“Historically, slides occur at peak run-off times in April, May or June when the soil is over-saturated and can’t hold any more water,” Dahill said. “This past spring was a perfect storm of moisture abundance in the ground. This pressure was dissipated with the release of the slide and the soil is improving every day.”
Dahill made an effort to assure drivers of the detour’s safety, emphasizing that professional engineers are taking appropriate measures to monitor the site using the most advanced technology.
According to Dahill, drill crews have begun to dig holes for two continuous recording devices, called inclinometers, which measure ground movement. The instruments will be placed in a critical location on the slope, which is the area between the detour and the top upper most portion of the landslide. Subsurface sensors will be spaced at two-foot vertical intervals to a depth of 130 feet to detect any movement below the surface.
Two kinds of inclinometers are expected to be installed by the end of the week. One is a digital device that can upload live data to a satellite, allowing crews to read any soil settlement or deviation in real-time. As backup, a conventional inclinometer will be manually checked by WYDOT on a daily basis. Both models can detect soil movement as slight as a quarter of an inch.
“We will monitor manually once to twice a day and crews will be on the pass 24/7,” WYDOT’s Resident Engineer Bob Hammond said. “We will be able to see any soil movement well in advance.”
According to Hammond, the detour will have a 60,000-pound weight limit, consistent with the summer weight limit on the rest of the Pass. There will be no additional restrictions, except for a slight speed reduction. Drivers are to obey all signage for their safety and the safety of the crews.
Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson told Buckrail when boarding the bus to leave the site, “I’m very pleased with the collaboration of so many different agencies, it really shows when we work together we can make things happen safely and quickly.”
