‘Catastrophic landslide’ closes critical mountain highway between Wyoming and Idaho
CNN
A critical highway linking Idaho and Wyoming has closed indefinitely after a portion of the road cracked and then collapsed in a “catastrophic landslide” Saturday, officials said.
A critical highway linking Idaho and Wyoming has closed indefinitely after a portion of the road cracked and then collapsed in a “catastrophic landslide” Saturday, officials said. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said in a post on Facebook there is no estimated timeline for reopening Teton Pass, which links Victor, Idaho, and Jackson, Wyoming. The initial crack appeared Thursday morning across both lanes of travel, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) said in a post on Facebook at the time. The crack across lanes dropped vertically roughly 8 inches in some places, causing unsafe driving conditions. A patch was put in place and traffic resumed until a mudslide in a different location on Friday closed the road. Saturday morning, the roadway where the initial crack happened collapsed, WYDOT said, adding that the roadway had “catastrophically failed, and a long term closure is expected.” “WYDOT crews, along with contract crews from Evans Construction, were working in the area to construct a detour around the damage, but the landslide continued to move, taking out the whole road,” WYDOT added. “No crews were hurt in the process, and no equipment was damaged.”
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