Clear, 69° F
An $8.78 million slide stabilization/rock scaling project is continuing in Wind River Canyon alongside U.S. Highway 20/Wyo. Highway 789 between Shoshoni and Thermopolis, and a months-worth of rock …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
The Powell Tribune has expanded its online content. To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free web account by clicking here.
If you already have a web account, but need to reset it, you can do so by clicking here.
If you would like to purchase a subscription click here.
Please log in to continue |
|
An $8.78 million slide stabilization/rock scaling project is continuing in Wind River Canyon alongside U.S. Highway 20/Wyo. Highway 789 between Shoshoni and Thermopolis, and a months-worth of rock scaling is scheduled to be completed this week.
Prime contractor is Oftedal Construction Inc., of Casper. The subcontractor, Midwest Rockfall, is scheduled to complete rock scaling by the end the week, said Wyoming Department of Transportation project engineer Jordan Erz of Worland.
“Following rock scaling, prime contractor Oftedal Construction will continue to remove all the scaled rock, and the contractor will be breaking up all the large boulders so they can be loaded and hauled out of the canyon,” Erz said.
The 20-minute traffic delays will ease during rock cleanup efforts, Erz said, and project work may continue this fall as weather allows. Work on the project is scheduled to resume in the spring.
Last week’s rock scaling highlight involved about three working hours by the rock scaling crew to remove a 500,000-pound boulder from above the highway for safety reasons. Erz said dirt was washed out under the big rock, and a channel for mud and water flows was cut underneath the rock.
“The big rock was very unstable. We are confident it would have fallen during or after a future large rainstorm, and at the very least, the big rock would have damaged the highway and caused a road closure,” Erz said.
When the big rock was ready to roll toward the highway, there was a 28-minute traffic delay.
“We apologize for the lengthy delay, but safety is the top priority,” Erz said.
Rockfall scaling locations in Wind River Canyon during the last month were milepost 116.3 (highway tunnels), mileposts 116.79 to 116.82 (north of the tunnels/just south of the Fremont/Hot Springs county line), mileposts 118.12 to 118.18, and mileposts 120.41 to 120.61 (3 miles north of the Hot Springs/Fremont county line).
The Wind River Canyon slide stabilization project includes slide repair, grading, slide stabilization rock (SSR), manual rock scaling, rock fall mitigation and other work on U.S. Highway 20/Wyo. Highway 789 beginning at milepost 115.9 through 123.12, inside the canyon between Shoshoni and Thermopolis.
Contract completion date is Nov. 30, 2022.
