Wyoming Reopened This Cracked Road and It Fell Off the Mountain Two Days Later

On 6 June 2024, large cracks appeared in Wyoming Highway 22 near milepost 12.8, on the east side of Teton Pass. The state closed the road, assessed it, and reopened it. Two days later, overnight, that section came off the mountain. WYDOT's own words: the roadway at milepost 12.8 on Teton Pass has catastrophically failed. The ground at that point had been monitored for decades. There was no indication of imminent failure. The pass tops out at about 8,431 feet. The original 1960s road runs at a 10 percent maximum grade, with a 60,000-pound weight limit and several avalanche paths crossing it, including Glory Bowl. It is also a commuter route. Jackson, Wyoming has the jobs and Victor and Driggs, Idaho have the affordable housing, so thousands of people cross that pass twice a day. When it failed, the alternate route was more than 60 miles. A 25-minute commute became a two-hour problem. The Teton Valley Food Pantry handed out food. The Community Foundation of Jackson Hole matched 27 commuters with temporary housing in Teton County homes in the first week. Governor Mark Gordon declared a state of emergency, which released federal funds. WYDOT and Evans Construction worked around the clock for three weeks and opened a temporary detour on the afternoon of 28 June 2024. That detour is about 600 feet long, has sharper curves, a 20 mph limit, and a grade of roughly 11.5 percent. The road that collapsed was 10 percent. The replacement is steeper, because the ground that was left was the ground that was left. The permanent rebuild finished a year later. The pass closed for a weekend in June 2025 and reopened for good on the 23rd. Sources and further reading: Wyoming Department of Transportation, Big Fill slide, Teton Pass critical failure, June 2024 WyoFile, on the detour construction and reopening, June 2024 Jackson Hole News and Guide, one year after the Teton Pass collapse Cowboy State Daily, on the 8 June 2024 failure Published figures for the summit elevation vary between 8,431 and 8,435 feet, and sources give the detour grade as 11.2 or 11.5 percent. Both are noted in the video. Check WYDOT road conditions before you drive it, especially in winter. Avalanche closures on this pass are routine. If you commute over Teton Pass, or you were on the Idaho side in June 2024, tell me in the comments what those three weeks were actually like. The people who drive that road every day know things about it that no report records.