(Photograph courtesy of the Wyoming Department of Transportation) The Wyoming Department of Transportation is replacing an aging bridge over the Snake River west of Jackson with a larger structure that is designed to facilitate wildlife passage beneath it.
“There are many competing interests in the area that add complex factors to transportation decisions,” Stinchcomb says. Meanwhile, the location of the bridge is a popular spot for public access to various forms of recreation, including river rafting, bicycling, and pedestrian use. The bridge also serves as a “critical route for emergency responders in the area,” he notes. Because of the high cost of living in Jackson, most of the workers employed in the town commute to their jobs, often using one or both roadways.Īs the only local connection between Jackson and the nearby towns west of the Snake River, the existing bridge over the waterway is a “key crossing point for Teton County,” Stinchcomb says. However, tourists are not the only ones using the two Wyoming highways. Roughly 15 mi long, WYO 390 runs north to Teton Village - the home of the famed Jackson Hole Mountain Resort - and on to the Grand Teton National Park, a major tourist destination. Just west of the Snake River, in Wilson, WYO 22 connects with the south end of WYO 390.
“It is also past its life span and in poor condition.” In 2014, the aging bridge was “deemed structurally deficient and fracture critical, meaning that any significant damage could render it unusable,” says Peter Stinchcomb, P.E., the construction engineer for the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s District 3, which encompasses the southwest section of the state. Since 1960, an 884.5 ft long steel girder bridge with two lanes of traffic has stood at the site. The primary route between these destinations, WYO 22 has an average daily traffic volume of more than 15,000 vehicles.Īnd approximately 5 mi west of Jackson, WYO 22 crosses the Snake River. At the same time, the $28 million project will increase public safety and reduce traffic congestion by replacing an aging bridge over the Snake River and improving a nearby highway intersection that is a major source of delays.Īpproximately 17.5 mi long, Wyoming Highway 22 extends west from the popular tourist destination of Jackson to the nearby town of Wilson and on to the Idaho border. Area collisions between motorists and animals, particularly moose, will be reduced with the construction of multiple wildlife crossings. A planned bridge replacement project near Jackson, Wyoming, has been designed to accommodate the needs of human - and wildlife - travelers.
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