WYDOT Director Says Green River Tunnel Crash Started Outside Tunnel

GREEN RIVER — The fatal 26-vehicle crash that sparked a raging fire and explosions Friday inside the westbound chamber of the Green River Tunnel started outside the tunnel, the director of the Wyoming Department of Transportation said Monday. 

WYDOT Director Darin Westby recounted parts of the crash, as well as authorities’ plans to handle traffic from an estimated 18,000 vehicles going through the small town of Green River each day to bypass the tunnel, which remains closed as debris continues to be cleared from it, Westby said Monday morning on Cowboy State Daily’s Morning Show With Jake. 

“I know the first crash happened outside the tunnel,” said Westby. “That’s where we had the first two fatalities. Obviously the fire was inside the tunnel.”

Authorities reported soon after the crash Friday that there were two known fatalities in it. They publicly confirmed a third fatality from among the tunnel’s wreckage Sunday. 

The crash was concentrated to about the final third of the tunnel on its west side, said Westby.

A reporter from Cowboy State Daily entered the tunnel at daybreak Monday morning and confirmed that the final third of the roadway under the tunnel is caked with ashen debris and vehicle parts.

The tunnel walls and ceiling are charred; the ceiling appears tattered and stripped in places. An acrid odor persists from the crash scene and can be noticed even from several feet away upon entry. 

To The Feds

The Wyoming Highway Patrol has concluded its portion of the investigation into the incident and turned it over to the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB). 

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) was among the first agencies to arrive on scene Friday just after the crash, said Westby. 

Authorities at a Saturday press conference also said the Sweetwater County Attorney — who determines criminal culpability after receiving law enforcement investigation reports – was visiting the scene as well. 

Weather

While Westby did not draw conclusions Monday about what could have caused the crash, he warned Wyoming drivers generally about the state’s deceptive weather.

Even with as short as the two quarter-mile tunnels in that hillside overlooking Green River are, drivers may find a different sort of weather on one side from what they witnessed when they entered it. 

Wind is an enemy of road safety in Wyoming, he added. It can blow snow onto a freshly-plowed road, or blow road sand away after it’s laid. 

“Always be alert of changing weather,” said Westby, adding that the state’s road crews are well-trained to handle snow, but “it’s the wind that is not our friend.” 

Hour By Hour

Construction crews were working in a well-lit east-bound tunnel at daybreak Monday, on setting up the chamber for two-way traffic. A line of concrete lane barriers was taking shape while Cowboy State Daily was on scene. 

Westby told the outlet that crews are struggling with “a supply issue” with the concrete barriers, tied to backed-up traffic – but that they hope to have two-way traffic routed through eastbound tunnel by Wednesday. 

“Right now we’re taking it hour by hour,” said Westby. 

The town of Green River has been “gracious” with the extra load of 9,000 additional vehicles, each way, through the town per day, he said. But that’s going to get old fast, he added. 

WYDOT officials on Saturday also referenced worries about frequent water main breaks under the town road now comprising the detour route, Flaming Gorge Way.

“Hats off to all the crews working round the clock to make this (two-way tunnel reroute) happen,” said Westby. 

He concluded the interview by asking anyone with photos or videos from the crash to email them to grtunnelcrash@wyo.gov.

Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.