U.S. 20/789 to remain closed tonight; projected reopening of highway through Wind River Canyon is noon Saturday

Wyoming Department of Transportation personnel fighting a spring blizzard in central Wyoming won't reopen U.S. 20/Wyoming 789 through Wind River Canyon until about noon Saturday.

Moisture-induced rock fall and mud continued to fall on the roadway throughout Friday, and WYDOT maintenance workers used a loader and plow trucks to push rocks off the highway.

"We plan to pull out of the canyon by dark Friday for safety reasons, and then we'll get back in there Saturday about 5 a.m.," said WYDOT area maintenance supervisor Clint Huckfeldt of Thermopolis.

WYDOT geologists are in the canyon assessing the stability of the canyon walls.

"The area adjacent to the road shoulder is designed to collect fallen rocks before they enter the roadway, but these areas have filled with rocks and rocks are now falling and rolling into U.S. 20/Wyoming 789," said WYDOT maintenance engineer Lyle Lamb of Basin.

The weather forecast is calling for continued rain and snow through early Saturday in Wind River Canyon.

WYDOT Chief Engineer Gregg Fredrick said after rain and snow end in Wind River Canyon, the area tends to stabilize after a couple of hours. At that time, WYDOT geologists will determine if any unstable rock needs to be removed to ensure the safety of the traveling public before the roadway through Wind River Canyon is reopened.

"We anticipate the road will be open by noon Saturday (April 29)," Fredrick said.

As of 5 p.m. Friday, U.S. 20 between Shoshoni and Casper is closed due to winter conditions, and U.S. 16 between Ten Sleep and Buffalo is closed due to winter conditions.

For road conditions, visit the wyoroad.info web site or call 511.

Wilson Brothers Construction of Cowley is currently working in Wind River Canyon on a rock removal project addressing the flooding and mud slides of the 2015 Memorial Day weekend. WYDOT officials met with Wilson Brothers this week, and the contractor has agreed to help WYDOT clean up this week's rock slides over the coming weeks.

"Neither WYDOT nor the contractor will remove any of the rocks until things are safer, and the cleanup effort will most likely take a couple of weeks to complete," Lamb said.

For information about this news release, contact WYDOT public relations specialist Cody Beers at (307) 431-1803.