District briefs

JTC tours WYDOT from cover ress being made on the new commercial vehicle parking spaces for the I-80 Winter Freight project.

Discussions throughout the tour revolved around snowplow concerns, winter operations, construction processes, materials shortages, employee recruitment and retention and other educational topics. The meeting also highlighted WYDOT’s partnerships with local contractors and ways we are working to improve commercial freight operations along the I-80 corridor.

Not only did the JTC hear about the different challenges facing WYDOT right now, but they also got a first-hand look at what we accomplish despite those challenges. n

District Engineer Ralph Tarango, District Maintenance Engineer Tim Morton walking the group through the workings of the Rawlins shop in District 1.

Photo: Jordan Achs

District 2 supervisor receives ESGR award

Asa Kidney, left, receives special recognition from Dean Welch with Wyoming Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for being a “Patriotic Employer” making sure one of the employees he supervises has the appropriate time off when called to duty. n

Photo: WYDOT

Headquarters

Commission awards more than $27 million in contracts in August

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded $27 million in bids for Wyoming Department of Transportation construction projects during its last regular meeting on Aug. 19.

Six of the eight jobs awarded at the meeting were awarded to bids from a Wyoming contractor.

A $12.5 million bid was awarded to Cheyenne contractor Reiman Corp., for pavement work and bridge replacement on US 14 in Sheridan County, with a contract completion date of October 2022.

The commission awarded Croell, Inc., out of Sundance $5.2 million for paving, electrical and other miscellaneous work on another section of US 14, this time in Crook County. This project also has a contract completion date of October 2022.

Century Companies, Inc., out of Montana, was awarded $3.7 million to mill and pave almost 10 miles of US 14-A in Big Horn County. This project has a contracted completion date of September 2022.

Century Companies was also awarded $1.5 million for milling, paving and guardrail work on US 14-A in Park County.

Other jobs awarded include: • McGarvin-Moberly Construction Co., out of Worland, was awarded $2.2 million for milling and paving work on US 14/16/20 in Big Horn County • Advanced Electrical Contracting, Inc., out of Sheridan, was awarded $1.2 million for electrical work in Sheridan,

Sweetwater, Teton and Uinta Counties. • Croell, Inc., was awarded $909,000 for paving small sections of WYO 59 in

Converse County. • Reiman Corp., was awarded $97,000 for bridge work on WYO 211/Horse

Creek Road in Laramie County.

WYDOT projects are awarded to the lowest bidder. Every job put out to bid this meeting was bid on by a Wyoming contractor. There were no new bidders this month.

WYDOT’s 2022 STIP now available for review

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Transportation is seeking public comment and review of its 2022 transportation improvement planning document.

WYDOT’s draft 2022 State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) is available at www.dot.state.wy.us/home on the department’s website. People can navigate to the STIP web page by selecting Planning/Projects/Research and STIP Project Listing, which contains the 2022 STIP PDF and a map where people can make comments or suggest new projects.

The STIP contains a listing of highway and bridge projects, airport improvement work, transit and Public Safety Communications Commission projects that WYDOT tentatively expects to contract for during the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The final STIP will also incorporate WYDOT’s capital improvement projects. The final approved STIP is published annually and updates are issued monthly.

The public can also submit their comments by email (http://www.dot.state. wy.us/ContactWYDOT/?id=128) or by mail to 5300 Bishop Blvd., Cheyenne, WY 82009. The deadline for receiving draft STIP comments is Sept. 3, 2021.

Besides the 2022 projects, the draft STIP includes a listing of transportation projects slated through 2027. It also includes a summary of pass-through federal funding for public transportation throughout the state.

Projects are listed by county and note the general character of work for the various transportation system projects. These projects include highway, transit, airports and others.

Additionally, WYDOT is accepting public comment via a virtual meeting at www.wydotstipmeeting.com. There, viewers can click through a short STIP presentation at their own pace as well as

Briefs continued on page 4