WYO 130 over the Snowy Range closed for the season

December 1, 2017

Snowy Range Road (WYO 130) over the high country of the Snowy Range has closed for the season.

The exact closure is between the seasonal closure gate at milepost 48 on the west and Green Rock on the east.

Last weekend’s winter storm dumped more snow in the high country. The snow, combined with strong winds, resulted in large snow drifts on WYO 130.

The drift that is forcing the closure of the road is a 10-foot drift near Libby Flats, said Al Branscom, the maintenance foreman in Laramie.

“We just can’t get through the drift,” he said.

The western side of the Snowy Range is also seeing high winds and drifting snow, said Dennis Goodwin, the maintenance foreman in Saratoga.

WYO 70, the other seasonally-closed road in Southeast Wyoming, remains open.

WYO 130 over the Snowy Range and WYO 70 over Battle Pass close annually in late autumn when relatively low traffic and deep snow accumulations render plowing operations impractical. Last year, both roads closed for this season on Nov. 28, 2016.

In past years, WYO 130 has closed on Nov. 13 in 2011, Dec. 7 in 2012, Nov. 4 in 2013, Nov. 15 in 2014, and Nov. 11 in 2015.

WYO 130 has a target opening date of Memorial Day weekend, and crews from Laramie and Saratoga will work to reopen the road in the spring.

WYO 130 and WYO 70 are two of several high-elevation mountain roads in Wyoming with seasonal closures. WYO 130 tops out at more than 10,800 feet, and WYO 70 crosses the Continental Divide at the 9,955-foot Battle Pass.

For information about this news release, contact WYDOT District 1 public information specialist Matt Murphy at 307-745-2142.