Teton County officials weigh large BUILD grant choices as Teton Pass Trail faces $4M shortfall

Teton County, Wyoming officials told a joint meeting with Teton County, Idaho commissioners on Sept. 9 that a $25 million federal BUILD grant is funding 13 project components across two states but one major component — the Teton Pass Trail and associated tunnel — is now roughly $4 million over the budget in the grant agreement and requires a county decision this fall.

Heather Overholser, director of public works for Teton County, Wyoming, said the county applied for the BUILD grant in 2020, “we received initially $20,000,000 and then ... we got another $5,000,000 so it's a $25,000,000 grant,” and that the award covers 13 components with five project partners across two states and two Federal Transit Administration regions. Overholser outlined project status: the Stillson transit center is under construction and expected to finish next summer; the Wilson active-transportation project is at 95% design and planned for bidding next winter; and several Idaho components are completed or in construction.

The Teton Pass Trail—budgeted with about $5,100,000 in BUILD funds plus a separate $1,000,000 FLAP (Federal Lands Access Program) grant for a tunnel—is now estimated to cost about $13,400,000 in total. Overholser said that with other available federal funding the project has roughly $6.1 million available, leaving an approximately $8.2 million local share required under current estimates. She explained that the FLAP money is contingent on constructing the trail all the way to Coal Creek; if the county cannot afford to complete that extent, it would lose eligibility for the $1,000,000 FLAP award.

Overholser described options staff will present to the Teton County, Wyoming Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 7: request a reduction in scope for the Teton Pass component, remove it from the BUILD grant and seek other grants for the tunnel, or pursue the full scope and identify additional local funding. She said reimbursements for BUILD must be requested by June 2027 and that changes require a white-paper revision to FTA Region 8 and review at FTA headquarters and USDOT, which could take several months.

Commissioners pressed the timeline and urged staff to accelerate the board decision. Commissioner Wes Gardner said the board needed to decide sooner than Oct. 7 if possible and offered to attend a special meeting; other commissioners said bidding would likely need to take place by January or February to preserve a spring construction start and leave time to submit reimbursement requests by June 2027.

Charlotte Fry, Teton County transportation manager, described related corridor planning: a Teton Pass Corridor study (2022–2024) identified safety priorities such as Phillips Bench and recommended achievable, coordinated actions with federal land managers and local partners. Fry also summarized a recent Rural and Tribal Technical Assistance (RTA) planning grant process: a notice of funding opportunity was briefly pulled and then reposted, changing program rules and removing a multi-community option; staff submitted an independent application the day before the meeting.

County staff stressed that some BUILD components remain on schedule while others—especially equipment and transit-signal work—face timing and procurement lead-time challenges that could affect reimbursement windows. Overholser said one element (transit signal prioritization) is on hold pending a concept-of-operations plan and further coordination with Wyoming Department of Transportation.

The meeting concluded after routine business; commissioners moved and seconded a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.

Ending: County staff will return with formal options for the board on Oct. 7 (or an earlier special meeting if scheduled) to direct staff whether to revise the BUILD grant, reduce project scope, or pursue alternative funding. Any formal revision must go through FTA Region 8, FTA headquarters and then USDOT, and could take several months to finalize.