WYDOT Video Explains How Rolling Closures Work

Sometimes the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Wyoming Department Of Transportation have no choice but to close down a highway due to winter weather or traffic accidents.

Closing a highway can back up traffic for hundreds of miles.

It can strand a lot of travelers and put a hard burden on a small Wyoming town.

That's why the state employs "rolling closures."

While closing Interstate 80 for weather or crashes is sometimes necessary, managing large numbers of stopped interstate commercial vehicles can be challenging.

The WYDOT video below will show you why they employ rolling closures and how they work.

Ensuring roadway safety is one of WYDOT's top priorities.

The small towns along routes with heavy through traffic have limited resources in terms of parking, fuel, hotel rooms, and other amenities.

When a town is at capacity, which can happen during a long-duration closure, the closure will be rolled back to the next town to avoid stranding travelers in a location without adequate services.

The road may be open in the direction leading away from the affected area.

WYDOT attempts to make accommodations for travelers who do not put a demand on an affected community's resources by issuing local traffic-only restrictions and through the Wyoming Travel Authorization Program.

WYDOT officials expanded and clarified the closures to give the traveling public even more information. The definitions are posted on WYDOT’s 511 website.

We wanted to clarify some of our closures to avoid any confusion and to give the public more information when we have a certain closure. said Stephanie Harsha, public relations specialist for District 3 out of Rock Springs.

These definitions will be available on our 511 website so motorists can not only learn a road is closed due to certain conditions but also learn why the road is closed.