By Tesia Galvan
Staff Writer 

ADA upgrades includes in six-year STIP plan for Washakie County

 

July 20, 2016



WORLAND – A district engineer from the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) met with the Washakie County commissioners to give insight to the six-year State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) from 2016 – 2020 for District 5.

District 5 “encompasses the northwest section of Wyoming … including Basin, Cody, Dubois, Frannie, Lander, Lovell, Meeteetse, Riverton, Shoshoni, South Pass, Ten Sleep, Thermopolis and Worland,” according to WYDOT’s website.

District Engineer Shelby G. Carlson said in STIP projects are determined by assets, priority and a financial analysis, among other things to determine what project best serves the public’s needs.

In Washakie County’s portion of District 5, 2016 STIP’s projects will include Worland federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades on U.S. Highway 16 and an eight-mile overlay and chip seal on U.S. Highway 16 in Ten Sleep from mile marker 334 to 343.

The second year of STIP in 2017 will include projects on a 4.5-mile full depth reclaim and double chip seal on Big Trails for Washakie County.

In 2018 and 2019, Washakie County’s STIP projects will be reserved for miscellaneous projects including culvert linings, cracked seals and signage and pavement projects.

The last two years of the six-year STIP projects includes a six-mile overlay and reconstruction on U.S. Highway 26 for Little Cottonwood Creek and a guardrail and bridge rail safety project for South Flat Road in 2021 and 7.5-mile overlay and chip seal east of Ten Sleep in 2022.

According to a letter from WYDOT, “STIP is the program by which WYDOT designs, schedules and prioritizes road and bridge improvement over a six-year period to construct necessary improvements and preserve your investment in transportation.”

—Carlson also went over the new 70 mph signs in District 5 and said there are still areas being studied to determine if the 70 mph is appropriate or not, including Wind River Canyon.

Carlson said statewide, there are 1,400 miles of areas of concern for the speed limit and in District 5 there were 320 miles of area for concern.

She added the criteria used to determine speed limits include geometrics, shoulder width, road size, access density, traffic mix, crash history and existing speed limits.

To date, Carlson said 828 miles have been converted to the 70 mph in District 5, and added they are still in process of putting up safety signs.

—Carlson also went over the five-year Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The five-year bill from fiscal years 2016 – 2020 restores Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) funds back into the states, and allows local entities to plan and invest with known federal revenue stream.

Carlson said the funds for this, “are paid by coal companies to the federal government and are supposed to come back to the states … those had stayed at the federal level, but they were reverted back.”

She said that amounted to $242 million to Wyoming in past payments.

State Rep. Mike Greear, (R-Worland) added, “The $242 million are prior balance dollars, so out of the 32 cents per ton that goes under the program Wyoming wasn’t getting back, they were only one of the certificated states for the reclamation. So this money was just being held instead of being given to the state of Wyoming.

“So the current delegation went back and got these changes, and out of that what you’re looking at is $34 million a year comes back in for reclamation from coal, the big dollars you see are coming from prior balance dollars. You won’t see that next year going forward.”

—Other business included the approval of the $12.8-million budget. The commissioners approved the budget in two resolutions.

The first resolution approved was a resolution necessary to provide income and an appropriation resolution.

 
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