WYDOT: Planning for the future
WYDOT: Planning for the future
By Stephen Dow
The Sheridan Press
Via Wyoming News Exchange
SHERIDAN — For years, the Wyoming Department of Transportation has been playing a complicated game of "Connect the Dots."
Many of the state’s cities and towns are separated from each other by mountains, rivers, plains and many, many miles. It’s up to the department to connect these isolated communities via well-maintained roadways.
This is no small responsibility, and it requires more than 6,800 miles of WYDOT-maintained roadways. Of those miles,1,625 are in District 4 — a region encompassing portions of Sheridan, Johnson, Campbell, Weston, Crook and Niobrara counties. Sheridan County alone claims 280 miles of WYDOT-maintained roadways, according to District 4 public involvement specialist Laura Dalles.
While the district prioritizes the roadways, WYDOT’s assets extend far beyond where the rubber meets the road, according to District 4 Maintenance Technician Doug McLean. There are fencing and shoulders. Guardrails and cattle guards. Curbs and gutters. Culverts and irrigation ditches.
There was a lot to maintain even when the dollars were flowing. And as the department faces a $135 million revenue shortfall driven by a decline in fuel tax collections, the district will have to make some hard decisions about what maintenance needs to be prioritized and what can be deferred.
Those decisions haven’t been made yet, but the decision-making process has begun with the district’s annual Maintenance Quality Control inspections, which were performed on more than 160 sections of highway in District 4 during the first two weeks of October, according to McLean.
McLean led a team of eight who measured the conditions of WYDOT’s local highways and assets — from the quality of pavement on the highways to the number of staples in the right-of-way fencing — in an effort to paint a picture of the region’s transportation needs.
“We turn around and use the information toward budgeting and long-range planning,” McLean said. “This way we can budget what we need to budget.”
Just as important as setting appropriate budgets is ensuring staff can prioritize the projects that directly impact the traveling public, McLean said.
“In the maintenance guys’ world, we don’t worry about money so much as man hours,” McLean said. “We’ll get it done — we just need the time to do it. So the MQC allows us to shift our attention and our time to what is most important to the traveling public.”
When reviewing the quality of assets, special attention is given to the quality of the roadways, according to McLean.
“Some things are weighted heavier than other things,” McLean said. “We put a lot more emphasis on road surfaces than the ditches, for example. Our top priority is maintaining the quality of the assets that directly impact the safety of our travelers.”
McLean said the road quality was strong overall in District 4.
“There are a few places where the roads maybe aren’t deteriorating, but they are a little bit worn,” McLean said. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing — it’s just part of the natural life cycle of the roads. It’s still comfortable to drive on, and it’s not rutted or holding water, but it is getting to where the road is worn in some sections. So that is definitely something we’ll prioritize down the line.”
With roadways prioritized and dollars limited, many of WYDOT’s other resources are experiencing more wear and tear, according to Larry Konetzki, District 4 maintenance engineer.
“Fence is usually the last on the list, because it can typically be stocktight without meeting our minimum thresholds,” Konetzki said. “So, if there’s one thing we’re behind in, it is definitely the asset quality of our fence. And of course there’s our culverts, which are also deteriorating pretty quickly.”
Once the information was gathered by McLean and his team, it traveled to Konetzki’s desk.
Konetzki and his team compare the data to previous years’ assessments and use the information to determine the budget and work load for the coming fiscal year. Any needs found in this year’s MQC will be incorporated into the district FY2022 budget, with most projects not starting until the summer of 2022 at the earliest, Konetzki said.
“We’re looking into the future, but not far into the future,” Konetzki said. “This MQC process gives us the blueprints for what resources are needed and what work needs to be done first.”
While this year’s MQC results are still being processed, McLean said he had not seen any major red flags yet. For the most part, he said, the MQC results reflect normal wear and tear on the roadways and other assets.
“I don’t think there were any huge surprises as of yet,” McLean said. “Every road has a lifecycle, and some of ours are reaching the point where they could use some routine maintenance.”