JACKSON, Wyo. — As road construction on Gregory Lane continues, the work will have only a minimal impact on school bus operations for the upcoming school year, according to the school district, and the bike path crossing is expected to open by next week.
The first day of school in Teton County School District #1 (TCSD) is Monday, Aug. 25. According to TCSD Executive Director of Communications Charlotte Reynolds, the school district has been in contact with the Town of Jackson’s (TOJ) Engineering Division to mitigate the impacts of construction near the school bus barn.
TOJ Associate Engineer Jeff Silliman “has kept our transportation staff updated on their progress,” Reynolds told Buckrail. “We are making modifications to some of our routes, based on drop-off and pickup locations, but that’s primarily the impact of Gregory Lane.”
Reynolds also noted that TCSD anticipates having the building permit for a new bus facility in the next few days, and ground breaking will happen shortly after that.
A Monday construction update sent from Silliman indicates that the newly installed water main stretches from the south end of Gregory Lane to Berger Lane, which encompasses Stages 1, 2 and 3 of the multistage, multiyear project. Sewer main has been installed in Stage 1, which extends from High School Road to approximately where the bike path crosses Gregory Lane, and installation continues toward Berger Lane this week. According to the map, construction has not yet reached the entrance to the bus facility, so school bus access to Gregory Lane remains via the north end.
Also expected this week, per Silliman’s email update, is prep work to get the pathway open before school starts. The bike path will have a gravel surface where it crosses Gregory Lane during the first week of school, so users should use caution when biking across and continue to follow all construction signs in the area. TOJ Director of External Affairs Susan Scarlata told Buckrail that the pathway will need to close again for storm line installation. TOJ will release updates and replace detour signs when that closure begins. Surface work and concrete are slated for this week near the High School Road intersection as well.
After multiple delays in the spring, the south end of Gregory Lane was closed on June 5 for Stage 1 of the rebuild project. At the time, each segment of construction was anticipated to last three to four weeks.
Evans Construction is the lead contractor on the project, which has been in the works for more than 20 years. In 2019, $8.5 million in SPET funding was allocated to the Gregory Lane project to address street, stormwater and sewer infrastructure.
