JACKSON, Wyo. — On Friday, Dec. 15, Teton County announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Walla Walla District completed rehabilitation work on Evans Levee, located near the entrance to the Snake River Canyon, with the removal of over 2500 tons of concrete rubble.
The completion of the levee project will make it safer for boaters and more structurally sound to handle heavy river flows during spring runoff.
According to Teton County, USACE began work in 2022 to remove the concrete from the face of Evans Levee, which included sidewalk slabs, rubble and chunks of building foundation. The pieces ranged from approximately 20,000 to 40,000 pounds and mostly included rebar and other steel protrusions, creating hazards to boaters.
Throughout the rehabilitation process, the Walla Walla District placed 2,700 tons of dirt on the levee to improve the slope for riprap (rock) placement and 6,500 tons of basalt riprap, a more suitable levee covering, to replace the concrete rubble. The new riprap will improve the levee’s resistance to heavy spring flows produced from snowmelt, Teton County said in a statement.
The original concrete rubble was placed on the Evans Levee as riprap in the 1970s. Portions of the levee were then constructed in 1969, 1976 and 1996. In 1986, the Walla Walla District took over the operation and maintenance of Evans Levee.
The Walla Walla District maintains the Evans Levee, along with 23 other levees in the Jackson area, totaling more than 33 miles.
