December 4, 2023 |
Photo – Rotary plow on Highway 70 – Bigfoot99 file photo
Highway 70, the Battle Pass Road closed for the winter Sunday, two weeks after Snowy Range Road closed.
Every winter, when conditions make it too difficult to keep them open, the Wyoming Department of Transportation closes the highways through the Snowy Range and Battle Pass.
Following the winter storm on Thanksgiving, the Wyoming Department of Transportation officially closed Highway 130 through the Snowy Range. WYDOT Public Information Specialist Andrea Staley said to keep Carbon County’s major roads open, such as Interstate 80, WYDOT chose to relocate all crews from the Snowy Range to the highways.
With the Snowy Range closed, it took another two weeks for Battle Pass to follow suit. Speaking to Bigfoot99 last Thursday, Staley said WYDOT crews weren’t prepared to close the road through Battle Pass just yet.
Staley made this comment last week. On Sunday, WYDOT closed Battle Pass for the season.
Staley said snow isn’t the only factor that causes WYDOT to close the two state highways. When keeping Battle Pass open, it takes too many resources away from other roads, such as I-80, Staley said WYDOT will shut it down.
Staley said Battle Pass was closed by this time last year. The WYDOT public information specialist said six years ago, Highway 70 remained open until right before Christmas. Staley said WYDOT doesn’t know exactly when the two seasonal roads will close each year, but crews attempt to have them both open by the end of May.
Staley said for the past few years, WYDOT crews have been using a variety of different techniques to ensure the Snowy Range and Battle Passes are open by Memorial Day.
Speaking to Bigfoot99 over the summer, WYDOT Maintenance Area Supervisor Marty Mayfield said crews clearing the Battle Pass recently began using tracked vehicles called snow cats instead of bulldozers. Mayfield said the snow cats are used to clear drifts before the rotary plows begin their work.
Mayfield said with the snow cats and rotary plows working together, WYDOT crews can more effectively clear the pass.
WYDOT managed to keep Battle Pass open for an additional two weeks past the closure of Highway 130. Both roads will remain closed to traffic until around Memorial Day of next year.
