Massive chunk of Wyoming's Teton Pass crumbles; unclear how quickly the road can be rebuilt

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A massive chunk of the meandering Teton Pass has collapsed, leaving a gaping dirt gash along the mountain pass that is a critical link between small eastern Idaho towns and the tourist destination of Jackson, Wyoming.

The road was closed at the time the section of road fell away, authorities said Saturday, following a mudslide a couple miles away and amid ongoing concerns with a crack and drop in the road that first drew attention Thursday after a motorcycle crash. It is unclear how long it will take to rebuild the road, a highly used commuter route for people who work in pricey Jackson but live across the border in Idaho. Jackson is also close to the popular Grand Teton National Park.

Part of the reason for the motorcycle crash was the crack and drop in the road, said Stephanie Harsha, a spokesperson for District 3 of the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Geologists and engineers sent to the area Thursday “noticed that that crack and that drop started to move a lot," she said. A paving crew temporarily patched the site, and traffic began moving again along the highway that night, she said.

The opening was short-lived. By around 3:30 a.m. Friday, maintenance crews were sent to a mudslide over a section of the pass a couple miles away, closing the road again, she said. While that was cleared, the road remained closed Friday because of the crack and the drop that had become more pronounced, she said. Crews that were trying to figure out a detour around the site left for the night “and by 5 a.m., this morning, WYDOT had discovered that the road had completely failed,” Harsha said.