Infrastructure

The current cost estimate to replace the failing structure, with about 30 percent of design work complete, is $137 million. But costs could rise given the project’s quick time frame.

During the pandemic, vehicle miles traveled, or driving rates, plummeted across the country. Now, not only are driving rates back up, but a new analysis shows Americans – including those in the Mountain West – are driving more than ever.

A new federal map shows nearly half of the U.S. could experience a landslide, and the risk is especially high across the Mountain West region.

Those tourism dollars often help keep local economies running, but there’s also major stresses on infrastructure that is not built to withstand the crowds.

Research shows climate change is causing bridges across the U.S. to age faster than expected. Many of the bridges affected are in parts of the Mountain West.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has granted Wyoming $347 million as the state completes the final phase of planning and prepares to build access.

The U.S. Bicycle Route System already had designated roads in Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Now it’s in Wyoming too.

A landslide recently wiped out part of the highway on Teton Pass, tripling drive times for thousands of people commuting between Northwest Wyoming and Eastern Idaho. With climate change and aging infrastructure, experts say other mountain communities could see similar disasters.

A section of the highway over Teton Pass catastrophically failed on June 8, disconnecting the tourist destination of Jackson from a sizable chunk of its workforce. For some businesses, the impacts have been manageable so far. For others, the way forward is a bit unclear.

WYDOT said it hopes to complete a rebuild of the collapsed section of the Teton Pass roadway by November at an emergency Wyoming Transportation Commission meeting on June 11. In the meantime, a $430,000 contract was approved to build a detour that’s expected to be completed in two weeks, weather permitting.