This site in Phantom Canyon took the brunt of last summer's flash flooding. It is located about a mile above the first tunnel in Phantom Canyon. County Road crews will have to haul hundreds of yards of material just to repair this washout.
Reconstruction of County Road 67 through Phantom Canyon which was heavily damaged in last summer’s flash flooding will get underway Monday (November 16). Fremont County Department of Transportation Director Tony Adamic said road crews have finished work on their final major paving project south of Florence which will allow them to now focus their efforts on Phantom Canyon. Damage from the flash flooding was originally estimated at over $600,000 but a recent assessment by an official from the Federal Highway Administration placed the damage estimate at about $350,000.
Adamic said that estimate is contingent upon the material that is needed to fill the washouts being available nearby in Phantom Canyon. Adamic previously secured permission from the Bureau of Land Management to obtain those materials from public lands that border the county road. The Federal Highway Administration will pick up at least 75 percent of the reconstruction cost with Fremont County paying the balance.
Although many motorists have been traveling Phantom Canyon at their own risk and maneuvering past the washouts since the flash flood, that will not be the case during reconstruction. Because the county will have heavy equipment working on the narrow roadway, travel through Phantom Canyon will be prohibited from 6 a.m. Monday mornings until 5 p.m. Thursday evenings over the next several weeks until construction is completed. Travel through Phantom Canyon on weekends outside of the construction periods will be at your own risk.