Wednesday, Thursday closures scheduled in canyon

A set of closures of U.S. 20/Wyoming 789 Wednesday and Thursday in Wind River Canyon are intended to help a contractor successfully and safely bring a large rock off the canyon wall to the edge of the highway.

"The rock we were trying to bring down has been more difficult than we anticipated," said Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer Kaia Tharp of Thermopolis.

Traffic delays of up to 20 minutes are still in play inside Wind River Canyon, but Wednesday and Thursday, road closures will begin at 1 p.m.

The road closures of U.S. 20/Wyoming 789 will be for one hour each day at 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. "The roadway will be reopened at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day to safely move traffic through the work zone," Tharp said. "We have also scheduled a three-hour closure of the highway, from 7-10 p.m. If the road needs to be cleared after 10 p.m., there will be a 20-minute delay with one-way traffic to accomplish the rock removal in a safe manner."

U.S. 20/Wyoming 789 Closures:

•1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

•7-10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday

U.S. 20/Wyoming 789 reopens for moving traffic:

•2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

•10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday