Teton County leaders declared Monday that Jackson Hole and Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks are open and accessible to visitors despite the destruction of a key regional highway.
A landslide Friday night severed the mountain-pass artery between Jackson Hole and Victor, Idaho, a vital commuter and commerce route that is one of five paved roads into the valley. As news of the landslide hit the nationwide press, worried prospective tourists peppered hospitality hosts, asking whether they could still come and reach the region’s recreational attractions.
“Jackson Hole is open,” Teton County Commission Chairman Luther Propst said during a hastily prepared briefing from a group of 10 emergency managers Monday morning. He led a discussion that included calls for aid to commuting workers across a spectrum of needs from housing to transportation, child care, carpooling and more.
Gov. Mark Gordon declared an emergency Saturday, enabling the state to seek Federal Highway Administration funds to repair the highway. The destruction of a segment of the road “endangers the health, safety, economy, and resources of residents of Wyoming” the declaration reads.
“The impact is a lot more on our community.”
Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce President Rick Howe
A detour around the destroyed section of highway could be fixed in “weeks, not months,” Darin Westby, director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation, told the Teton County Board of County Commissioners over a broadcast link. That will be well into the region’s busy summer tourism season, which has already begun.
Fearful that news of the landslide would crimp the local and state economy, tourism officials and others urged a unified message saying the parks and valley are open and accessible.
Visitors from California, New York and Texas with vacation reservations have asked “will things still be accessible?” said Rick Howe, president and CEO of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce.
Other than the one route, the message to visitors is “we are not closed,” Howe told the county board. Considering that there are four other highways into the valley, visitors have options to get to Jackson Hole, he said, to enjoy the Snake River along with Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks.
“The impact is a lot more on our community,” Howe told the board.
Temporary housing
Loss of the highway means commuters from the Idaho side of the Teton Range, where housing is cheaper than Jackson Hole, will have to drive an extra 62 miles. That adds 1 hour and 6 minutes to what is usually a 24-mile and 32-minute drive. Congestion will increase that time as thousands of commuters re-route their daily travel through Swan Valley, Alpine and the Snake River Canyon.
Fully 20% of the workers at St. John’s Health are affected commuters, hospital spokesperson Karen Connelly told commissioners Monday, and 115 of those “need to be on-site.” Many work 12-hour shifts and have pets, children and homes to worry about.
Adding what could be up to four hours of commuting time to such shifts creates obvious burdens, she said.
“These are long days for people,” she said. “There are needs.”
Additional response
Commissioners will meet Tuesday to take action on a host of recommendations made by emergency and community leaders, including reducing occupancy limits in some housing blocks, giving temporary occupancy permits to others, allowing RV and tent camping, waiving bus fees and other proposals.
“There’s a limit to how many people we’re allowed to put in our units,” said Mary Kate Buckley, president of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The ski-area company has constructed employee and workforce housing that’s regulated to some degree by development agreements with Teton County.
She asked for a temporary waiver of those occupancy limits and flexibility in other restrictions to accommodate commuters during the emergency. The resort also wants permission to house worker trailers, campers and tents at potential sites at a Teton Village parking lot and the Stilson transit hub a few miles south of the resort and village.
The Jackson Hole Community Foundation has reactivated its emergency fund that was last used during the COVID-19 emergency, said Laurie Andrews, president of the nonprofit hub. The foundation, best known for its annual Old Bill’s Fun Run for Charities that raises millions of dollars each fall for nonprofits, is setting up a network to pair unoccupied guest houses and vacant rooms with commuting workers, she said.
The town and county START public bus service has reworked its Idaho-Jackson schedule to accommodate the longer drive, director Bruce Abel told commissioners. Ridership on the first day of the new schedule was “somewhat disappointing,” he said, but that could change.
Congestion in the Snake River Canyon and Jackson during the emergency could extend the new, longer commute times, he said, because the highway network is “at capacity.”
The Federal Transit Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, reached out to START to offer aid, he said. START will carefully log expenses with the aim of securing reimbursements during the emergency, he said.
That reimbursement was “top of conversation” with the federal agency, Abel said. The federal outreach came as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg expressed his agency’s support for Wyoming’s emergency repairs in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
Rich Ochs, the county’s emergency management coordinator, outlined the difference between emergencies and disasters and told the board that the governor’s emergency declaration was the proper and sufficient reaction. Being a Wyoming highway, the incident is the state’s to manage, he said, and the appropriate venue for aid is through the Federal Highway Administration, another arm of the USDOT.
It’s not appropriate to pursue Federal Emergency Management Agency support, Ochs said. “We have one injury,” he said, a motorcycle rider who was unseated by a slump in the highway some time before it collapsed. “We have no deaths … no direct impact” to town and county finances.
While WYDOT works on a solution — a paved two-lane bypass to the missing highway segment that will require motorists to slow down from normal speeds — Ochs and his eclectic 10-person team of department heads and community organization leaders will continue their efforts.
While costs may accrue to state and federal coffers, “the impacts,” he said, “are our problem.”
Yes it’s a hardship. But you know what, there are worse things in life than this. This too shall pass. It’s a short term inconvenience for a lot of folks, and while everyone is clamoring for doing something about the housing shortage, I guarantee you that as soon as things back to normal, the housing issue will be forgotten. That is the real elephant in the room that needs to be addressed.
It’s time to consider a future-oriented transportation infrastructure in Jackson Hole and Teton Valley that does not prioritize the inefficient, dangerous and polluting automobile.
Consider how much quieter the 22 corridor is with Teton Pass closed. A fast, efficient and affordable public transit system could significantly reduce traffic congestion and the need for more pavement that would only add more cars and infringe on our scenic byways and wildlife.
An immediate temporary fix to the Teton Pass landslide should happen as soon as possible. But the bigger budget to permanently reconstruct the Big Fill should instead be used as a down payment for a tunnel through the pass. Look to Europe and Japan for solutions. A tunnel with free or affordable transit along with tolled automobile access would more effectively and efficiently move people between the two communities.
The “Trade Train” could be minimized by providing affordable and secured truck storage at Stilson Lot (Teton Village Transit Center) for workers who need their tools in Jackson, but don’t need to add unnecessary miles to their trucks with associated congestion and pollution. Integrated app-based mass transit, car-pooling, Zip Car rental, micro-transit and pathways should be utilized in both valleys to help move people from Point A to Point B without relying on personnel automobiles. Making alternate modes more affordable and convenient would encourage drivers to consider leaving their car at home for much of their travel needs.
START Bus could have exterior dog kennels. Some busses could be converted to include exterior decks to accommodate bicycles, skis and kayaks and those riders who prefer the now much fresher open air.
And what about the Airport to Teton Village Gondola? Instead of a North Bridge, why not have a scenic gondola that moves people the few miles directly between Jackson Hole Airport and Teton Village. Special luggage tags could allow their luggage and skis to be checked in at their originating city and delivered directly to their hotel room in Teton Village.
Why not?
Back in the 60s lived in Wilson. Been over Teton pass many times.
What do they believe was the cause of this slide?
Maybe they could tie some logs together with baling wire to bridge the gap…
I don’t feel that anger, and nasty comments will help our situation. Housing has been a problem here for my lifetime (over 50 years, born and raised). It appears to be improving, but will never be perfect for everyone, affordable is case dependant . I’d like to see a “RUSH” from the county, to set up man camps. Some form of MASS HOUSING has got to happen. Sooner than later would be a good thing. After a meeting with my staff it became the DIRE NEED. They didn’t ask to be paid travel time. They are willing to spend the work week away from home to avoid windshield time, and coming from Victor at prime time took 2.5 hours, travel time is dependent on time of day, and continues to be downplayed. Only one asked for gas money. I have been able to house them. THANX TO OUR CLIENTS. But not every employer has that luxury, and it is summer season for the lodging industry, they can not be expected to throw open the doors without compensation. This is a county OBLIGATION. I have gotten reply, somewhat harsh, that the county is having meetings on the situation. We all know meetings are lip service. HOUSING IN A HURRY!!!!!!
“Landslide” ~ Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac? Great Tune! Worth listening to if you have time, or perhaps take a listen to one of Joseph A. Tainter’s excellent lectures regarding “The Collapse of Complex Societies” or just read his book.
Here’s an idea? Why not let the humans park one of their undoubted vehicles on one side of slide and another on the other and allow them to gently walk, or ride a bicycle, between the two?. Or use some Pubic Transportation? Just a thought!
Should work for now or until the Yellowstone Caldera erupts again.
The situation reminds me of what use to be my daily commute between Silverton and Ouray Colorado over Red Mountain Pass. The minimum drive around was on thirty miles further than this situation as long as both passes were open. The longest I ever saw the road closed in both directions was about 7 days and tourists were loosing their minds.
Anyways, WYDOT will figure something out?
Humans are a strange species!
My first thought, karma.