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THERMOPOLIS — The second and final public comment meeting regarding the Black Mountain road study will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Hot Springs County Annex Building, 117 North Fourth Street, Thermopolis.

Hot Springs County is inviting the public to attend the meeting to provide comment and input on the investigation and proposed alternatives for the road.

“I would highly encourage participation in this, the final public meeting, for the Black Mountain Road Study.” County Commissioner Brad Basse said regarding the report. “This effort has been carried out thus far with very little public input outside of the individuals on the Steering Committee. This is a great opportunity to give input and receive information on alternatives regarding a critical transportation infrastructure asset in Hot Springs County.”

Basse said there are several areas of severe degradation on the paved portion of the roadway. “It’s becoming a safety hazard for the traveling public and it’s a very well-traveled road; there’s several oil fields out there, a lot of agriculture and a lot of recreation out there.”

He said the Wyoming Department of Transportation upgrade their portion of the road about three years ago and “from where we take off “made it that much more obvious that our road needed some attention. It’s been that 900-pound gorilla we’ve been ignoring and we’re trying to figure out a plan to repair it in a way we can afford and would give us the best product in the end for the money.”

WYDOT maintains the first 12 to 13 miles of Black Mountain Road/Wyoming Highway 172 and the county maintains the rest of the road (County Road 6) including the 8.65 miles of paved road involved in the study.

The current study has been going for about three months with the county contracting with GDA Engineers to complete the study. He said it was originally to be completed in October but the commissioners wanted to ensure a good quality study and not press it for time so they’ve extended the deadline.

According to the study, “Based on the PCI (Pavement Condition Index) findings, 90 percent of the roadway is classified as being in poor condition.

“This is the second of two public meetings. I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t have more members of the public there to participate (at the first meeting),” Basse said.

There are four alternatives outlined in the study. Basse said, “There are some pretty dramatic changes in that report,” outlined in the alternatives, including one that would be to turn the asphalt into gravel.

“That would be a big public relations issue if that were too happen,” Basse said.

He said the county does not have a preferred alternative at this time, but rather plan to wait for the Nov. 7 public input and hear comments.

The alternatives run from do nothing to total reconstruction, Basse said, adding, “the reality is somewhere in the middle.”

He added, “The big thing I wanted to get out of (this study) was a plan to move forward and identification of funding sources and phasing options.”

Regarding funding, Basse said they have some funds in the county road fund but would have to continue to save funds into the county road fund and use those funds to leverage other funds such as an industrial road grant. Other funding possibilities included in the study are county-wide consensus funds, mineral royalty grant, community facility loan and grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a Wyoming Business Council business committed grant.

Draft reports are available for inspection at the Hot Springs County Clerk’s office. Draft reports are also available at http://www.gdaengineers.com, located under the “Project Portal” tab. Upon creating an account on the Project Portal Page, access to the report will be granted.

If you have any additional questions regarding this project, email [email protected] or visit our website: http://www.gdaengineers.com.

“We’re recognizing it as our next large undertaking in the county so we’re trying to plan accordingly,” Basse said.