‘This is difficult terrain’: WYDOT moving forward with Wind River Canyon corridor study, including potential alternate route

(Lander, WY) –  Consultants for the Wyoming Department of Transportation met with the Fremont County Commission last week to review plans for an ongoing study assessing the resilience of the Wind River Canyon corridor between Shoshoni and Thermopolis.

The Wind River Canyon Corridor Resilience and Feasibility Study is supported by a $1.62 million federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant that WYDOT received last year.

“(WYDOT) made the case that this is a corridor of significance and that some of the challenges along it are worthy of attention,” Project Manager Lyle DeVries with the consulting firm Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig said during last week’s meeting. “And the federal government agreed by approving the grant money.”

100 years

The WYDOT study will focus on achieving a “more resilient and reliable highway system for central Wyoming for the next century,” DeVries said – a reference to the roadway’s construction approximately 100 years ago.

That undertaking was “one of the most expensive highway projects in the country at that time,” DeVries said, and it resulted in a “major upgrade” for north-south travelers – who previously relied on local routes like Birds Eye Pass that “were known as highly difficult to traverse due to weather conditions, or to the terrain, or maybe due to criminal activity.”

Now, DeVries said, the Wind River Canyon is “really the only north-south connection for miles,” so “it’s really important to keep it open and improve it.”

As part of their assessment, DeVries said the study team will analyze the types of motorists using the highway, measure average travel times and vehicle speeds, track seasonal usage trends and crash data, and identify areas where “traffic stacks up.”

They’ll also take a look at the road design to understand “the physical reality of the pavement on this highway,” he said, pointing out that the path through the canyon is “narrow” and “rests on a shelf and goes through mountains.”

“There are constraints that cause the highway to not meet every desirable geometric design standard that you might have for a highway of this nature,” DeVries said, mentioning shoulder and lane widths and “tighter curves,” for example. “We’re assessing the design of the highway and trying to identify whether substandard design might be contributing to some safety concerns. And where that is the case, we’ll be looking at potential corrective measures that could be applied.”

The study will look “beyond just the pavement,” too, DeVries said, describing plans to analyze potential options for “stabilizing” the canyon terrain, which is prone to rockfalls.

“WYDOT does a tremendous job of keeping this highway open as much as possible, (but) that’s a daily battle, to make sure that rockfall potential is minimal,” he said. “(We’ll) come alongside WYDOT and offer another set of eyes … to see what else can be done or adjustments could be made to the approach to try to minimize the effect of the terrain on the highway and its ability to stay open.”

Alternative routes

The WYDOT study will also consider “potential parallel routes” or “alternative routes” that could be developed in the area, Project Manager Jodie Snyder with Felsburg, Holt & Ullevig added, pointing out that “one of the big key focus areas” of the study is system “resilience.”

In other words, DeVries said, are there other routes that could be developed for motorists to use when Wind River Canyon is closed?

The consulting team has already spoken with enough local residents to know there aren’t many “feasible” options in the area, he said, acknowledging that “we’ve got a tall task ahead to identify potential redundant routes.”

“This is difficult terrain,” DeVries said. “Even if you get outside of the canyon, there’s a lot of contours, elevation changes, roadways that are maybe present in part now, but are not maintained year-round or are not really passable. So … it’s kind of all hands on deck to see what could be done.”

If it were maintained, Commissioner Larry Allen said the “most successful” alternative route would likely be Nowood Road over Cottonwood Pass, because it has “less of an incline” and motorists would “only have one mountain pass to go over.”

“Nowood Road would make sense,” he said. “You wouldn’t get right into Thermopolis, but at least it would give you an alternate route.”

Feedback

Allen and the rest of the Commission also provided the consultants with feedback about needed improvements in Wind River Canyon last week, offering comments about speed limits, traffic enforcement, safer pull-off areas, enhanced tunnel lighting, preservation of geologic features, improved access for emergency vehicles, and more.

Snyder said the study team will continue to coordinate with Fremont County as well as other stakeholders like the Wind River Inter-Tribal Council, Shoshoni, Thermopolis, neighboring counties, the Bureau of Reclamation, Wyoming State Parks, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, and the Federal Highway Administration over the coming months as they work to develop their project recommendations, which are due by the fall of 2026.

The consultants will also seek feedback from the public via virtual and in-person meetings, a project website, and social and traditional media channels, she said.

“(We’ll be) gathering your feedback and making sure that we understand your perspectives,” DeVries said. “You represent significant constituencies that use this corridor and depend on it, so we want to hear from you.”

For more information, contact WYDOT Project Manager Brandy Rubeck at (307) 777-4391 or brandy.rubeck@wyo.gov.