Pass arrestor passes test

Wyoming Department of Transportation crews yesterday tested the catch-net arrestor system on Teton Pass for runaway trucks. Closing the pass briefly in the morning, Resident Engineer Bob Hammond says the crews ran a state dump truck loaded with sand into the system at about 60 miles per hour to determine how it would perform.
Hammond said, “We’re still evaluating this, but initial indications showed that this thing worked just the way it was supposed to.”
Yesterday’s test on Teton Pass was conducted to assure the system would work properly if needed in the future following a previous failure. Two years ago, a pick-up pulling a trailer of logs plowed all the way through the system and out the other end, stopping just short of the sheer drop-off beyond. The system was closed and redesigned until recently to prevent a similar incident. Only five days ago, another truck near Buffalo, Wyoming crashed through all 10 gates of a similar system before plunging into a gulch beyond.
 

Jackson Hole Radio