JACKSON, Wyo. — Officials from The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) presented information about future regional projects for fiscal years 2022 through 2028, as part of their annual State Transportation Improvement Plan to the Teton County Board of County Commissioner yesterday afternoon.
A number of projects are on the docket including the Snake River Bridge replacement and intersection reconstruction of WY 22 and WY 390 beginning in the spring of 2023, Swinging Bridge replacement in 2023, the Tribal Trails Connector in 2024 and a new Teton Pass vehicle arrestor in 2025/2026.
Future projects set for 2026-2028 include the Fall Creek Road bridge replacement, Red Roof Slide mitigation in the Snake River Canyon and a new Teton Pass state line east.
Talks of the new truck arrestor planned to be built at the base of Teton Pass in 2025-2026, dominated the conversation.
According to Bob Hammond, WYDOT district 3 resident engineer, the department analyzed a number of locations along the east side of the pass prior to selecting the location. Site 6, near the base of Teton Pass was selected.
According to WYDOT, the sites were evaluated based on effective location, maintenance and cost, site feasibility, environmental impacts and construction costs.
Commissioner Luther Propst shared concerns about how the location of the new arrestor will impact businesses at the base of the pass, like the Stagecoach and its neighbors.
He suggested more enforcement from highway patrol in terms of stopping overweight trucks before adding another arrestor. WYDOT noted that the arrestor is for both overweight trucks and passenger vehicles.
WYDOT District Construction Engineer, Pete Stinchcomb, who presented the projects to the Commissioners noted that the system on the arrestors is meant to stop cars and trucks and noted it was last used by a Toyota Tacoma.
“Enforcement is not going to catch a truck with bad breaks,” Stinchcomb said.
Propst also suggested the location could become dangerous because of traffic blocking the entrance but pointed out the anecdotal nature of his comment.
“Is there any degree of public input that would make you reconsider this site or is this just decided,” Propst asked.
“We aren’t putting it up to a vote, because often people vote against something because it impacts them,” Hammond said. “We do want to work with people to make it as least intrusive as possible. The location was chosen for a reason, for safety.”
WYDOT Director, Luke Reiner, was also present at the meeting. Reiner emphasized the department’s goal of ensuring safety on the roads and for those in close proximity to the roads. He said, “Our analysis is that we do need another safety arrestor.”
Reiner noted the timeline of the project, slated for 2025/2026 and WYDOT’s desire to work with the community.
“I’d like to get to a spot where the residents of Wilson say, we are getting a truck arrestor, it’s going to protect us,” Reiner said. “It’s not happening tomorrow, we’ve got time to discuss this and get it right.”
More information on District 3 WYDOT projects is available here.
WYDOT will host a public meeting on the annual State Transportation Improvement Plan on Aug. 10, at the Teton County Library from 4:30-6:30 p.m.
