A tunnel thru Teton Pass in Jackson Hole, WY? This’s an idea that’s been rollin’ around for a long time in Jackson, WY and it just came up again at a state highway department meeting this past Monday.
There is a rea$on that this tunnel is still only an idea:
“Conceptually, it’s a neat idea. But at $200 million a mile — a rough estimate — how can we ever afford to do it?” – Wyoming Department of Transportation District Engineer John Eddins.
“Taking the estimate for the tunnel, that’s our total district budget for four years. Right there it doesn’t pass the litmus test.” – John Eddins
Sketches of 4 tunnel options were passed around at this meeting. Teton Country Engineer Sean O’Malley created these maps that showed 4 options for tunneling thru the mountain. The tunnels ranged in length from 1.27 miles to 4.04 miles. The shortest tunnel option starts just below “Glory Bowl” and the longest starts near Old Pass Road. Estimates are at $200-$400 million per mile, which puts this project at somewhere between $400 million – $2 billion in initial cost.
The tunnel idea was brought up at the state highway department meeting by Teton Valley Commissioner Kelly Park (a dude) and Jackson International Activities Committee of the Jackson Hole Rotary Club board memeber and co-chair Steve Duerr. A few of the other members of the meeting “liked the idea.”
PROS:
– The tunnel would assist economies of both sides of the pass (Driggs, ID & Jackson, WY)
– Allow passage of Teton Pass during bad weather
CONS:
– $200 million – $400 million per mile to bore the tunnel
– The initial cost would be somewhere in the range of Jackson’s district budget for 4 years
– Maintenance costs (emergency crews, lighting, ventilation, etc)
– No guarantee that the tunnel would actually assist economies on either side of the tunnel
John Eddins is looking into the cost of boring the tunnel and year round maintenance and wether it would be allowed by law.
“Before we go searching and spending money for studies, let’s do it in-house and see what comes out.” John Eddins