An exclusive interview with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, about the present and future state of highways in Wyoming.
![U.S. Transportation Secretary visits Wyoming in the wake of the Teton Pass collapse](https://891khol.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1.jpg)
An exclusive interview with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, about the present and future state of highways in Wyoming.
After about three weeks of around-the-clock construction, the temporary detour is constructed and ready to open.
Crews have been working 24/7 since the collapse of Teton Pass to reopen it. And they’re on track — with a detour set to “hopefully” open by Friday.
With climate change and aging infrastructure, experts say the Teton Pass slide could be a preview of what’s to come in other mountain communities.
The 6 million dollar “quick release” emergency relief funds will help with both the rebuild and detour. The detour is expected to open next week.
The alternate route connecting Idaho and Wyoming takes nearly three hours one way. Commuters making the round trip could drive to Salt Lake City in less time.
The June 8 landslide on Teton Pass caught many people off guard, including geologists who study the material and processes of the earth. KHOL met up with officials from the Wyoming Department of Transportation to answer the question: how did this happen?
WYDOT said it hopes to complete a rebuild of the collapsed section of the Teton Pass roadway by November at an emergency Wyoming Transportation Commission meeting on June 11. In the meantime, a $430,000 contract was approved to build a detour that’s expected to be completed in two weeks, weather permitting.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation said it’s confident a safe, temporary two-lane detour around the slide can be built in a few weeks.