EVANSTON — Engineers from Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) District 3 presented their annual Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to the county commission and other local development directors during the Tuesday, Aug. 6, work session.

“We’re showing citizens where we are putting our money and where we’re going to use it,” said District 3 Construction Engineer Pete Stinchcomb.  He further explained that the state of Wyoming receives federal funding in the amount of $330 million dollars per year that must be spread equally among WYDOT’s five districts.

District 3 receives $65 million, and that funding must be further divvied up among five counties — Lincoln, Sweetwater, Sublette, Teton and Uinta.

“The STIP is put together to get information out, to let people know (what’s going on) and to take public comments,” said Stinchcomb. 

Stinchcomb proceeded to present a slideshow depicting the status of current road and bridge construction projects.

“Bridge [work] is coming up a lot lately, and it’s not going to slow down,” Stinchcomb said.

One such project is Evanston’s 6th Street overpass which, after experiencing minor re-surfacing setbacks, is slated to be completed by Nov. 1.

“That bridge was in pretty bad shape,” Stinchcomb said, before pivoting to discuss other local bridge work.

Initially, the Interstate 80 bridge crossing Yellow Creek Road was not a part of this year’s STIP, but Stinchcomb said that, upon WYDOT discovering how catastrophically compromised it was, emergency funds were diverted from other projects to address its issues immediately.

State Sen. Wendy Schuler (R-Evanston), who was in attendance on behalf of her constituents, said she had received multiple complaints from citizens about the segment’s closure of two of the four lanes during busier travel and tourist seasons and that residents were saying “it doesn’t seem that anyone is working on it [at times].”

Stinchcomb said crews are occasionally absent from the site because the newly-poured concrete requires time to cure, and the workers are needed elsewhere during that down time. Evanston Director of Engineering and Planning Damon Newsome also fielded Schuler’s concerns, explaining that the reduction from four lanes to two was to mitigate weight-bearing concerns.

“It had to be fixed,” he said, explaining that girder bridge failures are dire in nature. “It got through the winter better than I expected.”

WYDOT Project Manager David Peterson, who leads the 6th Street project construction, noted that, while it seems several bridges are failing simultaneously, it’s because “there are 60 years into these bridges. The state of Wyoming did a wonderful job initially, but this is the cycle of life,” citing the “movement of structures,” and an increase of road salt usage over the past decade as reasons for seemingly-hastened deterioration.

Newsome further clarified that most of the ongoing projects are “like deck replacements, not complete overhauls.”

Bridger Valley native Schuler also inquired about the condition and width of county roads in the area. Newsome explained that attention paid to particular road segments boils down to user numbers — the more they’re utilized, the likelier they are to receive funding and construction efforts.

“It’s risk versus reward, and comes down to economics. Sometimes shoulders aren’t really an option if we’re trying to maintain. Don’t expect them to be widened, but they are smoother,” Newsome said.

Other, current WYDOT projects in Uinta County include ongoing reconstruction of City View to Sioux and Del Rio and miscellaneous Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bike and pedestrian improvements.   

Next year’s county projects are: bridge rehabilitation between mile marker 10.68 and 15.64 on I-80 eastbound; Kemmerer south wildlife crossings on HWY 189 from mile marker 2 to 30, using special grant funding, which should also increase the local labor force.

The much-discussed eastbound I-80 truck parking lot between mile marker 7 and 11 is slated to begin in 2026.

“We also drive these roads a lot, and have our own personal input as well. We take input from anyone and all year long,” Stinchcomb concluded.

For more information and/or to offer suggestions/feedback, contact the WYDOT District 3 office at 307-352-3000.