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Jan 26, 2024

Containers slip (or slide) over Teton Pass

Environmental Reporter Landon Call, a deputy with the Teton County Sheriff’s

Environmental Reporter

Landon Call, a deputy with the Teton County Sheriff's Office, shows the drivers of two trucks illegally hauling shipping containers over Teton Pass on Thursday morning how to download the 511 phone applications for various states, which would inform them of road closures and trailer restrictions in place. The drivers were cited for violating the ban on trailers. A rash of closure violations and accidents have plagued the busy commuter artery between Teton Valley, Idaho, and Jackson Hole this winter.

After pickup trucks illegally hauling shipping containers over Teton Pass jackknifed and spun out near the icy summit last week, snarling two morning commutes in a row, a driver warned more would be coming.

Then, on Monday morning, another came. More are likely to come.

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A pickup truck hauling a shipping container jackknifed while attempting to turn around March 15 at the top of Teton Pass, blocking traffic in both directions for almost an hour.

Teton County Sheriff's Deputy Landon Call shows the drivers of two trucks hauling shipping containers over Teton Pass on Thursday morning how to download the 511 phone applications for various states, which would inform them of road closures and trailer restrictions in place. The two drivers were cited for violating the ban on trailers on Teton Pass, part of a rash of such incidents that have plagued the busy commuter artery between Teton Valley, Idaho, and Jackson Hole this winter.

Another driver violating the seasonal trailer prohibition on Teton Pass slides out Thursday morning near First Turn just west of the summit of Teton Pass, blocking hundreds of commuters.

Shipping containers are being installed on state land near Teton Village for a new storage operation that was approved by state officials last June. The operator said his business had ordered 200 storage containers and already has about 140, a few of which contributed to the onslaught of illegal trailers on Teton Pass in recent weeks. The operator said he’d been reaching out to suppliers to get them to instruct the haulers — who are usually a third party — not to bring their loads over the pass while a ban on trailers is in effect.

Motorists driving toward Teton Pass from either direction are presented with no fewer than three signs warning that trailers of any kind are not allowed between Nov. 15 and April 1. Drivers frequently ignore the warnings.

Teton County Sheriff's Cpl. Chad Sasche waits at the weigh station along Highway 22 on Monday on the west side of Teton Pass. Sasche, who was primarily looking for vehicles hauling trailers, said he’d already pulled over a pickup pulling a shipping container similar to those that had snarled traffic two days in a row the week before. Sasche said he was able to stop the eastbound vehicle at Coal Creek, fined the driver $570 for failure to obay posted signage and sent him back to Idaho to drive through Swan Valley and Alpine in order to get to his destination in Jackson Hole.

Contact Billy Arnold at 732-7063 or [email protected].

Environmental Reporter

Billy Arnold has been covering the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the people who manage it since January 2022. He previously spent two years covering Teton County government, and a year editing Scene. Tips welcomed.

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