Wyoming authorities open detour near section of highway closed after 'catastrophic' collapse

CNN
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About three weeks after a landslide prompted authorities to close a major highway near Grand Teton National Park, a detour has been opened to public traffic, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

In early June, a crack formed on Wyoming Highway 22 at Teton Pass and officials closed the road for repair work. It was reopened to traffic, but two days later the road collapsed.

A two-lane paved detour opened Friday with traffic limited to vehicles weighing less than 60,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

“(The department's) professional geologists have evaluated the stability of the detour. The geotechnical analysis confirms that the temporary detour meets or exceeds the minimum requirements outlined in the Federal Highway Administration guidelines,” the Department of Transportation said in a news release.

The Teton Pass corridor “serves as a critical commuter route and facilitates the transportation of goods and services that are essential to the growing regional economies of Wyoming and Idaho,” according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to a graphic posted on the Teton County Department of Transportation's Facebook page, the detour was built just inside the section of Highway 22 that collapsed.

The new road is about 600 feet long and has a steeper curvature than the section of highway that collapsed. New drainage has been added.

Engineers and others are redesigning the original section of the highway and the Department of Transportation's goal is to rebuild the road before winter.