Wyoming Seasonal Highways Opening For 2018 Summer Season
All but one of Wyoming's highways that close to motor vehicle traffic in the winter, have opened for the summer travelling season ahead of schedule.
A 13-mile stretch of Wyoming State Highway 130 west of Centennial, and a 22-mile stretch of Wyoming State Highway 70 between Encampment and Baggs, were opened by WYDOT snowplow crews, back on Monday, May 21st.
Then on Tuesday, May 22nd, the gates were opened on a 22-mile stretch of US Highway 14A west of Burgess Junction.
The target date of opening the roads is normally the Friday before Memorial Day.
However, US Highway 212 over the Beartooth Pass will not open in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
Crews have encountered more snow than anticipated, on the highway between Wyoming State Highway 296 and the Montana border, and now anticipate opening the highway on Friday, June 1st.
The Montana side of the highway is open as of Friday, May 25th, between Red Lodge and the state line.
Too much snow, combined with too little traffic during the winter, make snow-plowing efforts in those areas impractical, so the roads are closed.
All of the main roads inside Yellowstone National Park are open, including Dunraven Pass, which opened 1 week ahead of schedule.
Motorists are asked to exercise caution on the roads that have recently opened, as inclement weather could force a short-term re-closure of the roads, so that crews can clean them up again.