There will be a public meeting to discuss the Stillwater River Road closure at the Nye Fire Hall on Thursday, July 30 at 6:30pm. All three Stillwater County Commissioners are expected to be in attendance.

Stillwater River Road was closed by a rockslide on June 3 and has remained closed for the last eight weeks. Despite increasing public discontent, Commissioners have not revealed plans for when, if ever, the road will be reopened. A recent notice in the Stillwater County News indicated that Commissioners have received a $1.4 million bid for repairs.

Location of rockslide on Stillwater River Road. Click to see on Google Maps

Stillwater River Road is an essential traffic artery, linking Absarokee to Nye and providing secondary access to the Stillwater Mine. It is critical that Commissioners hear from the public to make sure the road is reopened as quickly as possible, so please make plans to attend and send this notice along to friends and neighbors who might be impacted.

The rockslide and road closure are reminders of the fragility of our area, and how vulnerable we are to natural events. It is no coincidence that many of the residents impacted by the closure are also signers of a petition for a citizen initiated zone to protect the area from poorly regulated oil and gas drilling. That petition will be presented to County Commissioners later this year.

Questions you might consider asking the Commissioners (feel free to add others in comments):

• What is the timetable for reopening the road: bids, work, completion?
• What is the status of the rock wall adjacent to the road? What needs to be done to make it safe?
• Why has it taken eight weeks to communicate plans to the public?
• How will the County cover the cost of repairs? What options for state and federal relief have been explored?
• Can the work be completed before winter?
• If there are no plans to repair the road, what are the long-term implications for residents and County commerce?
• If the Commissioners decide not to repair the road, how will residents be compensated for loss of property value, or loss of business?

Here is a video I shot this morning at the scene. Lots of wind and river noise in the background, so you can only hear on max volume.