GREEN RIVER –– The damage assessment continues in the westbound Interstate 80 tunnel following the interstate’s fatal Valentine’s Day crashes and fire.
Wyoming Department of Transportation District 3 Engineer John Eddins said clean up inside the tunnel is completed and experts are evaluating the concrete structure to determine the extent of the needed repairs. Concrete in the tunnel is 15 inches thick and Eddins is hopeful only a few inches will need to be replaced. Two-inch-diameter core samples will be taken at several locations within the tunnel to determine the extent of the damage.
Concrete spalling can be seen along with road and electrical damage inside the tunnel. Eddins said that all the electrical, conduit, and lighting will have to be replaced along with some of the actual roadway and curb where the fire was most intense.
Until a final damage assessment can be determined and a contract put together for actual repairs it’s impossible to say when repair work will begin. Eddins said he’s hopeful that a contractor can be on board by the end of June or beginning of July, but says that’s just a guess. He said it is the Department’s goal to have the tunnel back in use by the end of October, emphasizing that is a goal.
The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the crash and fire. An initial report published by the NTSB suggests the incident started outside the west tunnel opening, with multiple crashes occurring further into the tunnel. The crash resulted in several injuries and the deaths of two Rawlins men and a Canadian man.
