Oil City News: In addition to presenting WYDOTâ€TMs State Transportation Improvement Program to the Natrona County Commissioners during the regular work session on Tuesday, August 2, District Engineer Mark Ayen also gave the WYDOTâ€TMs Regional Transportation Improvement Program to them.
There are plans in the program for the department’s remaining projects in Natrona County from 2022 through 2028 for the remainder of the year. This year, according to Ayen, they want to complete the milling, leveling, and overlaying of all lanes between mileposts 219 and 227 and between mileposts 200 and 210.41 as the interstate between these two points.
WYDOT’s Deputy Director of Engineering, David Ayers, also discussed WYDOT’s approach to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program, a partnership between the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the federal government, and local governments to create an electric vehicle infrastructure. In Wyoming, there are a few standards that the program must adhere to, like charging stations every fifty miles, which are not quite feasible based on its requirements nationwide. As a result, Ayen explained to the audience WYDOT had “asked for a few waivers, basically acknowledging that there are some circumstances when we are unable to reach the 50-mile mark.”
Casper to Kaycee is my favorite instance,” he said. It is impossible to find a middle ground. In the middle of nowhere isn’t a good place to have it. Infrastructural support and power are necessary.”
Comments are welcome on the plan, posted on WYDOT’s website. To meet the requirements of the national plan, WYDOT only needs to build four new stations; they are currently planning to do so in Buffalo, Pine Bluffs, Sundance, and Douglas.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s website also provides an interactive map and descriptions of all the projects planned from now until 2029.
WYDOT’s State Transportation Improvement Program document lists projects for Natrona County for FY 2022.