Tuesday, NOVEMBER 4, 2025 |
Photo – Green River tunnel crash – Courtesy WYDOT
Nearly nine months after a horrific crash on Interstate 80, inside the westbound lanes of the Green River Tunnel, temporary repairs are finished. Traffic is moving both ways now. Since March of this year, travel had been narrowed to head-to-head traffic on two lanes in the eastbound tunnel while WYDOT crews worked to repair the fire-damaged westbound tunnel.
An initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board released in March of this year identified the cause of the fiery collision that killed three people and injured another 18 as a 2006 Toyota Tundra. According to the NTSB findings, the Toyota pickup lost traction, spun out and came to a rest after crashing into a guard rail upon exiting the tunnel. A chain reaction of collisions followed.
Two of the people killed in the crash were from Rawlins: 20-year-old Christopher Johnson and 22-year-old Quentin Romero.
The Green River Tunnel cuts through Castle Rock in Sweetwater County, with one tunnel in each direction of I-80.
WYDOT District 3 engineer Clint Lockman said temporary components have been installed to open the tunnel ahead of the winter driving season.
The tunnel has reopened with eastbound and westbound traffic separated. WYDOT Traffic Control Supervisor Larae Davis with S&L Industrial in Big Horn County cautioned drivers that the speed limit through the tunnel has been set to 35 miles per hour.
Drivers are advised to take the temporary reopening of the westbound tunnel at Green River seriously and obey the posted speed limit. More work to rehabilitate the tunnel will come with spring, next year. Lighting is only partial at this time and will be improved when construction resumes in 2026.
