CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon’s office announced on Saturday, June 8, that the governor had issued an executive order declaring an emergency in response to the “catastrophic failure” of Teton Pass.
The declaration will facilitate access to resources from the Federal Highway Administration to start work on repairing the pass, the announcement said.
“We are closely monitoring this ongoing situation, and Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) personnel are working diligently to develop a long-term solution to rebuild this critical roadway,” Gordon said in the statement. “I recognize the significant impacts this closure has to Teton County residents, regional commuters and the local economy.”
Gordon’s emergency order calls for immediate work to reduce further damage to the pass, and characterizes the closure as dangerous to the “health, safety, economy and resources of residents of Wyoming.” Read the full document here.
The order also orders the Director of the Office of Homeland Security “to take all appropriate and necessary actions, including but not limited to, coordination of state and federal resources, the partial or full mobilization of homeland security organizations, and personnel in response to and in advance of actual disaster, to ensure the furnishing of adequately trained and equipped forces of homeland security personnel in time of need.”
WYDOT’s director is ordered to take similar steps to mobilize state and federal resources, as well as personnel.
“WYDOT remains on site decisively engaged on fixing the road and restoring connectivity to the Teton Valley,” WYDOT Director Darin Westby said in the statement. “Safety is our utmost priority, and we ask that recreationists and curious residents avoid the area until it can be stabilized.”
