Construction Has Taken Over Wyoming Roads With No End In Sight
If you have driven around Casper or the state of Wyoming you've seen the 'Orange Barrels', 'Road Closed' & 'Road Work Ahead' signs and those familiar bright colored safety vests. The question is, will the road construction every end?
The answer: NO.
The Wyoming Department Of Transportation currently has about 40 road construction projects underway and when one project ends, there are many more ready to begin. One of the larger jobs is on I-25 in Casper that is a 2 year bridge replacing project that will be completed in the summer of 2023. I-80 in the southern part of the state has road construction projects from East of Cheyenne to West of Green River. If you've cruised around the state at all, whether it be on a state highway, interstate highway, county road or city/town street, you've seen work being done and may have been stopped while traffic is down to one lane.
Resurfacing, bridge maintenance/repair/building, new concrete are all in progress to make the Cowboy State roads in tip top shape. Weather, age, wear and tear all have a major impacts on roads all over the country and give Wyomingites an opportunity for a great paying job. According to Ziprecruiter.com there are road construction jobs available ALL over the state, some paying as high as SIX FIGURES!
Construction zone safety is a topic that needs to be addressed. The Wyoming Department Of Transportation says:
The number of crashes in work zones spiked in 2018 in Wyoming with 322 crashes. Typically these events still make up more than 200 crashes each year. There have been a total of 1,338 in the past five years in Wyoming. And, more than 30 percent of those crashes led to injuries or fatalities.
If you've ever worked in a job that is in close proximity of a road, you know how dangerous the jobs are. Keep that in mind when you're petal to the metal in a construction zone. Slowing down may cramp your style, cause your trip to be a little longer or make you late for work...BUT, most of these construction zones don't pop up overnight and you should be prepared. Imagine if your husband, wife, son or daughter is working on that construction crew, you'd want everyone to slow down.
Comedian Todd Yohn sings about ALL of our frustrations with Road Construction.