Crews are working to clear Highway 22 of debris from a mudslide and evaluate a crack from a landslide that occurred the prior day.
“I don’t think we’re going to get it opened today for people to get home,” WYDOT engineer Bob Hammond said.
A mudslide at 4:18 a.m. breached both lanes of Teton Pass at milepost 15, near the weigh station on the Idaho side, closing Highway 22.”
Wyoming Department of Transportation crews are working to clear the debris from the about 200-foot mudslide, but additional material continues to flow onto the roadway.
Crews are also evaluating a crack that occurred at milepost 12.8, the result of a landslide. The crack has been temporarily patched by road crews but is continuing to be evaluated. WYDOT said they continue to see movement. The crack was first identified after highway patrol responded to a motorcycle crash at the site yesterday.
Landslides are a type of debris flow when rock or earth moves down a slope; a mudslide is a particularly fast type of landslide.
David Lee, who works with Teton Conservation District, said in an email that Teton County is in peak runoff, due to very high temperatures during the day and very warm overnight lows.
Hammond, the WYDOT engineer, said that these events can “absolutely” be attributed to runoff season as water is one of three factors that cause landslides.
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