Federal bill partly plugs WYDOT funding deficiencies

A federal infrastructure bill has partly plugged the funding gap that the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has been reporting for many years – but the agency is still in a several-hundred million dollar deficit.

Scott Taylor, District Engineer for District 4, outlined WYDOT’s funding situation last week during the agency’s annual presentation about upcoming projects and priorities.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), he said, included $91.2 million in extra funds, mostly for surface transportation. This $72.3 million is for needs including preservation construction of roads and bridges and wildlife crossings.

The remaining funds are for aeronautics and electrical vehicles.

WYDOT’s estimated unfunded annual needs before accounting for the additional federal funds was at a total of $354 million, according to Taylor’s presentation. IIJA reduced this amount to $267 million.

With such a large deficit, said Taylor, “We are in preservation mode right now.”

For this reason, there won’t be much in the way of construction on the agency’s 6700 miles of roads and highways in the near future. Projects will mainly focus on crack seal.

As well as its roads, WYDOT is responsible for double that length in fences, as well as more than 42,000 culverts, 80,000 signs and 6000 bridges and structures. These are all things, “That we’re trying to preserve, which we’re falling behind on,” said Scott.

Consequently, two projects in this district have been delayed as they are not considered crucial for public safety, Scott said. This includes widening WY 59 to five lanes between Wright and Gillette and a similar project on Coffeen Ave in Sheridan; statewide, the largest project that has been put on the backburner for now is a reconstruction project on the I-80/I-25 interchange, which was set to cost $310 million.

The IIJA funding, said Scott, includes $45 million for bridges, of which at least 15% must go to address bridges in poor condition and will be directed to local WYDOT agencies. Said Scott, a total of 44 bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects have been identified within 29 agencies, and these projects will be let between 2025 and 2029.

The IIJA funding also includes a total of $25.3 million across the next five years for electric vehicles. The state’s role, said Scott, is to make sure the infrastructure exists, “For whatever vehicle you want to drive.”

WYDOT is the “pass-through agency” for federal dollars in this goal, Scott said. He said that state assets will not be used to install, own or operate electric vehicle infrastructure.

WYDOT will, however, assist communities in finding funds to meet their goals for electric vehicles.

Current Roadwork

Isaac Finkle, District Construction Engineer, provided an overview of WYDOT’s progress on current and upcoming projects in this area.

Carry-over projects from last year include work on the Wind Creek section of I-90 east of Moorcroft, which Finkle said is almost done, and the Devils Tower Junction on US 14/24, which is on schedule for completion next month.

A project on WYO 116 near Cundy Creek was scheduled to begin in August, but was briefly delayed. “We plan to start shortly,” said Finkle, and this project is likely to carry over to the spring instead of hitting its planned October completion date.

This year’s local project was an 18.7-mile crack and seat with overlay and bridge repair on the east and westbound lanes of I-90 near Sundance. “That will hopefully be wrapping up in October for one lane,” said Finkle, with work to continue in the spring on the second lane.