Main Street gets road work

*Note: This story has been updated to include the Sept. 13 start date of the chip seal project. 
 
Newcastle’s Main Street will be getting a little work-over before fall arrives, and residents who hope to do business downtown while the work is going on will have to find someplace else to park. 
Anyone who leaves vehicles parked on U.S. Highway 16A Business Route will need to move those vehicles by Sept. 12 so work can begin on Sept. 13, according to an Aug.  25 Wyoming Department of Transportation press release. The department plans to chip seal from South Railroad Avenue to the U.S. 16 bypass intersection, and any vehicles that are still in the way will be hauled off. 
Chip seal projects were resumed by the department on Aug. 26, after a brief break for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The department uses chip sealing to increase traction and to preserve the roadway.
“WYDOT asks Newcastle residents on that route to please remove any vehicles from the street so the chip sealing operation can be completed,” the release says. “Any vehicles left on the roadway will be towed at the owner’s expense.” 
The Newcastle project is expected to begin after the completion of the chip seal project on Wyoming Highway 50 from Gillette to Savageton. The time-line for the Gillette project is Sept. 8-12.
“We will then relocate to U.S. 16A Business Route and portions of U.S. 16 in Newcastle,” the release states. 
The release notes that all schedules are weather permitting. 
Motorists traveling on these routes should expect short delays as they navigate through the chip seal paving operations. 
“Pilot cars will escort motorists through work zones at lower speeds so as not to kick up gravel that could potentially result in broken windshields. Motorists are advised to also avoid the black asphalt emulsion and to maintain a respectable distance behind the car ahead of them,” the release says. 
Motorists are asked to obey all traffic control directions and eliminate distractions.