THERMOPOLIS – The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is warning that rock slides in the Wind River Canyon have the potential to be a daily occurrence as increased moisture from ground thawing and anticipated rainfall will increase the odds of falling rock.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of control at this time,” noted WYDOT District Engineer Shelby Carlson. “We’re bringing in an emergency contractor [GeoStabilization International of Denver] to help with the more troublesome slopes, and remove potential hazards,” said Carlson.

The firm will be working in the canyon over the next week to stabilize rock fall areas after last week’s Big Windy area slides, that closed the highway over night April 26 and forced WYDOT to abandon cleanup efforts due to unsafe conditions.

Carlson noted that the most troublesome area is in the vicinity of Milepost 122, and that traffic control will be in place while contractors remove debris and transfer it to waste areas in the canyon.

WYDOT Public Relations Specialist Cody Beers reminds Wind River travelers to slow down when going through the canyon, and watch for rocks of all types on the roadway, especially at night.

“The National Weather Service is calling for up to two inches of rain this weekend,” advised Beers, “So the potential for more rock fall is pretty great.”

Most of last week’s rock fall was located 8-10 miles south of Thermopolis, in an area that can be viewed via a WYDOT web camera, located online at wyoroad.info.