Mudslides Close Snake River Canyon
Expect US 89 to be reopened around 6 PM
by Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT)
September 5, 2007
Editor's Note: This release came in a little after 5:00 PM from the Wyoming Department of Transportation about the Snake River Canyon closure. They report there were two slides and give a more specific milepost location for the slide events. Road crews hope to have the road open by 6:00 PM today. There have been no reports of injuries due to the two slides.
_______________________________
Mudslides Close Snake River Canyon
WYDOT
Two mudslides at the west end of the Snake River Canyon have closed US 26/89, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Both slides are near Alpine Junction, about 35 miles southwest of Jackson.
Reports of the mudslides began around 2:30 p.m., with a small slide reported at milepost 118.9 and a larger slide between mileposts 120 and 121. Crews from the Jackson and Afton maintenance shops were dispatched to clear the roadway. By 3:26 p.m., vehicles that had been trapped between the two slides had been rescued out of the area.
At 4:55 p.m., the smaller slide at the 118 had been cleared and crews were more than half way finished removing the debris from the highway, with the Alpine Fire Department on standby to hose off mud from the highway. It is still anticipated that US 26/89 will reopen around 6 p.m.
For more information, contact Theresa Herbin, Public Involvement Specialist, WYDOT, District 3 at 307-352-3065 or 307-389-0790.
|
