On Monday, the Wyoming Department of Transportation announced it will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the I-80 Winter Freight/Build Project.
The ceremony, on Sept. 20, will take place at 10 a.m. on the Quealy Dome truck parking lot to bring attention to the project that was designed to provide safe areas for commercial drivers to rest or wait out winter storms or closures. The project also included truck passing lanes to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
Officials said the new truck parking lot developed from the project totals nearly 200 spaces. Located on I-80 at the Quealy Dome at mile marker 290 and Fort Steele Rest Area at mile marker 228, the $34 million project was paid for using a $20 million federal BUILD grant, and a state match. Started in 2020, the completion date for the project is this fall.
The project will also include truck climbing lanes at Halleck Ridge, between mile markers 250 and 252 in the eastbound lanes, and at Cooper Cove between mile markers 279 and 282 in the westbound lanes. The project also saw the installation of 12 miles of wildlife fencing near Halleck Ridge, 6 miles of pavement preservation overlay and a new salt/sand storage building at Quealy Dome.