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Solvent spill damages new Sylvan Pass road

By Carole Cloudwalker

This document was published online on Monday, September 17, 2007

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The spill of an unidentified industrial fluid on the Sylvan Pass highway will require extensive asphalt repairs.

But it's not expected to delay completion of the four-year, $37 million project this fall. Before this problem, paving was nearly completed on the job.

The spilled material, characterized as a “solvent,” is believed to have occurred within the past two weeks.

That's the word Monday from a Federal Highway Administration spokesman in Washington, D.C., who asked not to be identified.

He said he does not know exactly where on the pass the spill occurred, but believes it came from a truck belonging to the prime contractor on the job, HK Contractors of Idaho Falls, Idaho, or a subcontractor.

Unofficial reports indicate the spill involves about three-quarters of one mile of highway in the eastbound lane as well as many isolated spots lower on the pass road that will require patching, but the federal spokesman could not confirm that.

“Spills are a common occurrence on projects involving pavement” and large trucks, the spokesman said. He said the material - reported by others to be hydraulic fluid - that spilled was “something that necessitated remilling of the asphalt” over an unspecified area.

He said no delays are anticipated on completion of the Sylvan Pass work because of the incident.

The contractor, not the government, will have to pay for rotomilling and re-paving the segment of roadway, he added. Reports indicate that cost at about $75,000 for materials, plus labor and equipment.

The contractor has drilled many test holes to determine how deep into the asphalt layers the material penetrated, the spokesman added.

“It's not going to cost the government or delay anything,” he said.

He added that asphalt material continues to be hauled to the pass (and to an unrelated job near Canyon Village) from a batch plant behind the rodeo grounds in Cody.

A Federal Highway Administration supervisor stationed at Lake in Yellowstone Park said he is not allowed to discuss the road project and referred calls to the Washington, D.C. office, as did HK spokesman Loren Blossom.

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