Positive Developments at the Landslide

There have been positive developments at the landslide in the Snake River Canyon over the weekend.  WYDOT officials say the side berms of the moving slide continue to be stable, allowing for excavation of the mud from Highway 26-89 to continue on both sides of the slide. District 3 District Engineer John Eddins says water flow in the middle of the slide has increased which has moved a lot of debris down to the road.  Meanwhile, the material in the lower moving section of the slide is now moving at a rate of about one foot per minute. Previously, that area was moving about six feet per hour.   Says Eddins, “You can’t walk across the slide anymore because of how fast it’s moving now — it looks like a really slow moving river of mud.” That, he says, is good news because the large mass is breaking up and coming down with the moving material.  In another positive development, WYDOT crews are seeing more stability at the top of the slide, which hasn’t moved for two days.  US Highway 26-89 now enters its second week of closure due to the slide, and although Eddins could not estimate when it might be reopened, he assures WYDOT crews are working to reopen the road as fast as possible.