TETON VALLEY, Idaho — Just after noon on July 28, a Chevrolet Malibu traveling westbound on Highway 33 collided with a Mazda Sedan traveling southbound on Highway 32 when the sedan failed to yield and entered the roadway, according to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office.
The collision caused severe injuries to the occupants of both vehicles. Two patients, a male and female, were transported to Teton Valley Hospital where the female occupant later succumbed to injuries. The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification to family members.
This accident is the third motor vehicle accident occurring in the month of July which involved the death of a motorist.
Plans for a highway improvement project had been in the works. Local government, nonprofit and business partners, led by Teton County, Wyoming were awarded a federal BUILD Grant in September of 2020 for $20 million. With roughly $6 million of that going to funding to the Idaho Department of Transportation (IDT) for passing and turning lanes along the increasingly busy highway 33. IDT engineer Curtis Calderwood explained that the original project estimate for intersection improvements, around $6 million, was based on a similar highway project completed in Fremont County.
However, due to inflation, rising material and design costs the project came to a halt. IDT also realized there was much more involved than they first presumed for the project to meet national highway standards.
An Idaho Transportation Investment Program (ITIP) is currently in the works to come up with the necessary funds for the proposed highway projects. A full breakdown of the current ITIP can be found here.
