Wyoming Closes Down Roads

Besides a few light rain or snow showers, South Dakota hasn't seen significant amounts of snow during the past week. The story is different in Wyoming as highway crews get ready to shut down roadways in the higher elevations.

Here is media release from the Wyoming Department of Transportation about the traveling conditions and highway shutdowns.

Sheridan, Wyo – A significant amount of snowfall along with strong winds and minimal traffic warrants the Wyoming Department of Transportation to close U.S.14A in the Big Horns at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, November 22, 2021.

According to the Burgess Junction maintenance foreman Tom Anderson, strong winds and heavy snows are making it difficult to maintain two lanes of traffic at the higher elevations. Operators are concerned that because of the un-seasonal wind conditions, motorists may encounter impassable roads and risk becoming stranded.

WYDOT closes U.S.14A seasonally as a safety precaution rather than as a reaction to storms. This seasonal closure ties in with WYDOT’s mission of providing a safe, high quality, and efficient transportation system for the citizens of Wyoming.

WYDOT crews from both Lovell and Burgess Junction will make one final sweep of the U.S.14A route on Monday, November 22 to ensure all motorists are off the mountain and then close the gates for the season.

Those seasonal road closure gates are located at Burgess Junction (just east of milepost 98.1) and on the Lovell side of the mountain near milepost 76.04.

WYDOT closed 14A on November 16 in 2020.

During this seasonal closure, motorists can use US 14 via Granite Pass and Greybull to travel to and from Sheridan or Lovell. Motorists are encouraged to check current road conditions for this route before departing by either calling 5-1-1, downloading the WYO511 app, or going online to www.wyoroad.info.

Photo Credit: WYDOT (US Highway 14A near Observation Point)

Source: WYDOT