Case Study: Monitoring Teton Pass Highway Stability for WYDOT

Executive Summary

On June 8, 2024, a significant collapse occurred on Teton Pass Highway (WY-22), a critical transportation route traversing the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming. The collapse highlighted the persistent challenge of ground instability in the region and underscored the need for proactive monitoring to prevent further disruptions.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) sought a data-driven approach to assess the risks along the entire length of the highway, leading to a collaboration with KorrAI for comprehensive ground stability monitoring using InSAR.

Context

On June 8, 2024, a significant collapse occurred on Teton Pass Highway (WY-22), a critical transportation route traversing the Teton Mountain Range in Wyoming.

The Teton Pass Highway is subject to complex geological movements, including subsidence, uplift, and lateral shifts caused by tectonic activity, erosion, and environmental conditions.

The collapse highlighted the persistent challenge of ground instability in the region and underscored the need for proactive monitoring to prevent further disruptions.

Challenge

Traditional ground monitoring methods were insufficient for continuous, comprehensive oversight of this challenging terrain. WYDOT needed a solution that
could:

1. Identify areas at risk of collapse, in the immediate future and the long term.
2. Understand the nature of the movement
3. Deliver actionable insights for infrastructure maintenance and risk mitigation.
4. Provide early warning of potential instability across the entire highway corridor.

Solution

We utilized satellite-based InSAR for monitoring ground movement. Data was acquired from Sentinel-1 and processed through KorrAI’s proprietary AI-powered algorithms.

The study divided the highway corridor into grid cells, detecting patterns of subsidence and uplift across different segments.

Scope: Coverage of entire 17.53 mile-long highway corridor

Frequency: Stability assessments every 11 days

Impact

Continuous monitoring indicated increased subsidence compared to the previous timeframes in the study, indicating potential vulnerability.

• Successfully identified multiple areas requiring investigation before visible signs of instability
• Validated the effectiveness of previous repair investments
• Enabled proactive rather than reactive maintenance planning

Conclusion

KorrAI’s continuous monitoring framework allowed WYDOT to track changes over time and refine mitigation strategies based on evolving ground motion data.

This case study underscores the power of geospatial intelligence in infrastructure protection and highlights the importance of proactive ground motion monitoring in high-risk areas.