A view of Static Peak from the Moose-Wilson Road connecting Grand Teton National Park and Wilson, Wyo.
The annual spring opening of the Moose-Wilson Road for vehicle access has arrived, and the scenic rural road within Grand Teton National Park is now open for the 2014 travel season.
A brief travel closure on the unpaved section of the road will be in place for about 48 hours, beginning 4 a.m. on Tuesday, May 20 to accommodate a dust abatement application. The road will reopen by 8 a.m. Thursday, May 22, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.
Road crews will complete the early season dust abatement work in the shortest time possible, park officials said. Visitors and residents are advised to use an alternate route on May 20-21 as the temporary closure will prevent making a ‘through trip’ on the Moose-Wilson Road from Granite Canyon Entrance Station to the Teton Park Road at Moose, Wyo. This will be the first dust abatement application this summer, with two other applications planned for late July and early September.
For those wishing to reach the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve or Death Canyon trailhead, access will be possible by driving south from the Teton Park Road junction adjacent to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center.
To alert travelers of the expected road closure, electronic signs will be placed on Wyoming Highway 390, beginning Monday, May 19. For motorists heading south to Teton Village from Moose, signs will also be placed at the junction of the Teton Park Road.
The product used for dust abatement is a slurry of magnesium chloride—the same product that is used to treat dirt roads in and around Jackson Hole. This product coats the road surface, but it can also adhere to the undercarriage of vehicles. Motorists who drive the unpaved portion of the Moose-Wilson Road after it reopens on Thursday may want to rinse off their vehicles to eliminate any residue.
Roadwork schedules may change, or be delayed, due to weather conditions, equipment malfunction, or other extenuating circumstances.