WILSON, Wyo. — Teton Pass will open to traffic on Friday, June 28, around midday, following the completion of the detour at milepost 12.8, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has shared.
A text message alert will be issued when the road officially opens to traffic, WYDOT said. Sign up for WYDOT’s 511 Notify alerts here.
Crews completed paving and striping of the 600-foot new road segment earlier this week. The speed limit along the new road segment has been reduced to 20 mph, WYDOT said, noting that the sharper curve is graded at 11.2 percent. Trailer traffic is allowed, and the standard summer weight limit of 60,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight remains in place.
“We saw the viral video of the collapse, and it is a testament to the expertise and dedication of our Wyoming Department of Transportation that they were able to mobilize to construct this temporary road,” Governor Mark Gordon said in a statement. “WYDOT is now working diligently on the next steps for the full rebuild, keeping motorist safety paramount. Our residents, commuting workforce and visitors – this road is open to you. I applaud everyone who has come together to solve this problem and help – that’s the Wyoming way.”
The road repair timeline has been evolving since the Pass closed indefinitely on Saturday, June 8. The detour was announced on Monday, June 10, with WYDOT estimating it would take “a few weeks” to complete but with no definitive schedule attached to the project. This came as a surprise to those forecasting that the Pass would remain closed for months. By the next day, that estimate was refined to state the project could be complete “within two weeks.” By Thursday, June 20, WYDOT shared that the detour was on course to be open by the end of the week of June 24. All told, the detour was constructed in just under three weeks.
WYDOT noted that repair work is ongoing at milepost 15, the site of the mudslide that began on June 7. A box culvert has been installed to improve drainage in the area, and WYDOT said it plans to pave the road on Thursday, June 27. Continued work at the mudslide site will be carried out while two-way traffic remains open.
WYDOT hosted members of the media and the government at a site visit on Tuesday, June 25, to preview the newly paved detour. Staff geologists emphasized the safety of the project, explaining that professional engineers have taken appropriate measures to monitor the stability of the site using the most advanced technology.
“Geotechnical analysis confirms that the temporary detour meets or exceeds minimum requirements as outlined in guidance from the Federal Highway Administration,” WYDOT said in Thursday’s statement. “The calculated factor of safety for stability of the detour exceeds 1.2, with 1.1 being the minimum acceptable to WYDOT’s professional licensed engineers.”
