Construction season begins

Bri Brasher
NLJ Reporter
 
A recent Wyoming Department of Transportation news release details this year’s construction projects in the Newcastle area, some of which are already underway. 
John Leahy, WYDOT’s Newcastle and Sundance resident engineer, said one of the projects involves some side work installing signs as part of last year’s construction project through town, while the other two projects are new to 2019 and located just a bit outside of town. A new web cam and road closure system is also to be installed. 
“Improvements to approximately nine miles of WYO 585 from the Four Corners junction north of Newcastle to the Crook County line will begin the second week in April. This project consists of a mill and overlay, replacement of a culvert and stock pass near milepost 4.6 and is scheduled to be completed the week of June 16,” the news release said. “In addition to the improvements on WYO 585, a seven mile stretch of US 85 will also be worked on this summer.  This project will begin at the Four Way Stop in Newcastle and proceed north to the Flying V.”
Leahy told the News Letter Journal that the projects deal with pavement preservation, as well as upgrades to roadway signs and technology. He said work on the road is scheduled maintenance to make the road smoother and to keep the surface in good shape for driving. 
Leahy explained that crews will do a profile milling, which means they will mill through the project first to correct bumps and problems. The crews will then go back and overlay to get a smoother, new driving surface, he said. 
Additional work will be completed on WYO 585 on the stock path at milepost 4.6. Leahy said the culvert that allows cattle to walk underneath the highway is settling and rusting, so it will be replaced by a concrete pipe. Work on WYO 585 is expected to run from the middle of May to the second week of June, and work on US 85 is scheduled to be started and completed in May. Leahy said all access will be maintained for businesses and residences, and the Flying V will be open over the course of the construction. 
“We realize the highway work is a huge headache for everybody, and we do actually try very hard to minimize the impact and get people through the job as quickly and safely as possible,” said Leahy.
WYDOT’s news release states that “portable traffic lights and one way traffic, with delays of less than 20 minutes are scheduled from April 7 to May 19. In addition to the portable traffic lights, flaggers will be on site throughout the project. There will be a 12’ width restriction in place while the culvert and stock pass work is being completed. After that, width restrictions will be increased to 14’.”
“The project also includes the installation of a Road Weather Information System (RWIS), Web cam, and road closure system on US 85 at the WYO 585 US 85 intersection.”
Leahy also detailed the addition of a Road Weather Information System, web cam, and road closure system on US 85 at the WYO 585 and US 85 intersection. People can access all of the Wyoming web cams on WYDOT 511 or the Safe Travel USA website, according to Leahy, who said the cameras are usually set up to take a picture every five to 15 minutes. One camera typically faces north, one faces south and one focuses on the road surface. Leahy said WYDOT’s other upgrades include traffic counters, air temperature and pavement censors, rainfall and visibility censors and a wind-speed detector. The technology is located on a radio tower and connected to the internet, and then all the information gathered is analyzed at the Traffic Management Center in Cheyenne, Leahy said.
“They have access to all that information so they can go in and look at the weather all around the state, which helps them coordinate with our maintenance crews to update information and help determine where to put snowplows and when to send the guys out.” Leahy said. 
The online technology allows for real-time updates versus having someone drive out to the area to assess conditions, which Leahy said is the current practice. Leahy added that the technology will help predict when roads will freeze and when anti-icing is needed, etc. Installation is scheduled for the end of May through the first two weeks of June.
Regarding the road closure gate, Leahy said WYDOT will add a sign with flashing beacons on US 85 to allow WYDOT to close US 85 at the WYO 585 intersection. Currently, Leahy said, the road closure gate is roughly at the state’s honor conservation camp on US 85. 
The new system should allow for fewer road closures, as people will now be able to go around on WYO 585 if US 85 is the only place badly affected by winter weather, as is typical, according to Leahy. 
Leahy stressed that the WYDOT 511 app and website give access to the road conditions map and web cameras that are updated in real time. Both projects are federally funded by the Federal Highway Administration, Leahy said. 
“In Wyoming, we enjoy a 90% match,” Leahy said. “The state puts up 10% of the money and the FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) covers the rest. It comes out of district 4’s WYDOT budget.” 
Leahy further added that money for the project comes out of state and national gas taxes.  
Leahy said if people have problems or concerns with any of the projects, the local WYDOT staff is there to work on mitigating and solving any issues. 
“As always, we try very hard to reduce the impact to people and keep the wait times to drive through our projects as low as possible. We try to deal with concerns or problems as quickly as we can,” Leahy said.