WYDOT continues sand-bagging support for flooding along Big Horn River

The Wyoming Department of Transportation continues to provide sand-bagging support for flooding caused by ice jams along the Big Horn River in Worland, near Manderson and Greybull.

WYDOT workers provided support Saturday, Sunday and early Monday. WYDOT workers hauled concrete barriers Saturday to Worland from Ten Sleep, Shoshoni and Basin.

Rapidly rising temperatures began melting snow quickly last Thursday and early Friday.

Three WYDOT trucks and their drivers were busy all day Sunday resupplying sand to sand-bagging locations near the Big Horn River, and concrete barrier was hauled to Worland. In all, 56 sections of concrete barrier have been hauled to Worland in the sand-bagging effort.

On Monday morning, two WYDOT trucks with trailers helped move pallets of sand bags to the different areas in Worland, and near Manderson and Greybull.

As of Monday morning, the Big Horn River had dropped about 1.5 feet as the weather cooled over the weekend and limited snow melt. A river ice dam remains just north of Worland in the Big Horn River. More than 700 volunteers are working, and the volunteers have filled 52,000 sand bags for use in the effort to prevent additional flooding.

“We still have ice stuck against some bridges,” said WYDOT District Engineer Pete Hallsten of Basin. “WYDOT will be inspecting all bridges where flooding occurred. Workers are continuing to check bridges and culverts to make sure they are functioning properly and are safe.”

Forecasters with The National Weather Service are predicting continued flooding of the Big Horn River through early Tuesday as the result of river ice jams between Worland and Greybull, said Chris Jones, NWS meteorologist in charge in Riverton.

“Generally dry conditions are being forecast until Thursday, Jones said. “Warming temperatures after Wednesday could cause further flooding/ice jam issues in these areas into this upcoming weekend.”

Two storm systems are forecast to affect western Wyoming west of the Continental Divide with two snow events forecast this Thursday and Friday and then again Saturday through Monday. The first system is forecast to bring mainly light precipitation, with more moderate snow amounts possible through the weekend in western areas of Wyoming.

The flooding also impacted the Little Popo Agie River near WYO 789, the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway (WYO 296) and Owl Creek near WYO 170 northeast of Thermopolis.
For additional information about this news release, contact Cody Beers, District 5 public relations specialist, at (307) 856-1341 or at (307) 431-1803.