Wyoming Department of Transportation
Encyclopedia
The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is a government agency charged with overseeing transportation infrastructure for the U.S.
state
of Wyoming
. WYDOT’s stated mission is “to provide a safe, high quality, and efficient transportation system.”
With more than 2,000 employees based in about 60 locations, WYDOT constitutes Wyoming's largest and most widespread state agency. The department is responsible for planning and implementation of road improvement projects, conducting road maintenance, managing driver licenses and motor vehicle programs, supporting airports and aviation and coordinating with the Wyoming Highway Patrol
.
WYDOT headquarters are located in northwest Cheyenne
adjacent to the Central Avenue Interchange (exit 12) on I-25. In addition, road construction and maintenance operations are divided among five field districts, headquartered in Basin
, Casper
, Laramie
, Rock Springs
and Sheridan
.
WYDOT was formed in 1991, incorporating the Wyoming Highway Department, along with the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission and transportation-related elements of the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Wyoming Public Service Commission.
The old Highway Department had existed since 1917, when it was created in response to the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916
, in which Congress decreed that as a prerequisite for the receipt of federal funds, a state must have a highway department (or similar agency) in place and functioning. Until that time, road improvements were the responsibility of local governments.
During the 1920s, as the pace of road improvement picked up, so did the need for maintenance. In Wyoming, the initial maintenance work was very basic in nature and carried on only during the summer. Winter motor travel was practically unknown in those days, consequently the agency’s maintenance forces were laid off in the fall of the year, with only a few mechanics retained to overhaul equipment.
Winter maintenance begins
Winter maintenance and snow removal
outside of the mountainous areas was first undertaken on a large scale in the fall of 1929. Some snow removal on a very limited mileage had been carried on since the Department bought its first snowplow in 1923, but the agency had acquired only 13 plows up until 1929. That year, another 33 plows were purchased.
By then, it was becoming obvious that taking steps to effective reduce snow drifting and accumulation on the roads was just as important as snow removal. The department began engineering grade raises, wider rights of way, removal of guardrail and similar drift-causing structures, and the first snow fence
s were erected during this era
1930s: Paving work accelerated
While during the 1920s, the focus was mainly on “getting out of the mud;” with improvements consisting of improving drainage and topping roads with gravel. By the 1930s the Highway Department had raised its sights to providing durable all-weather surfacing.
An excerpt from the department’s 1930 annual report read, “The construction of … low-style surfaces such as gravel shale and crushed stone ... has only provided a temporary solution to the problems of providing adequate highways. Increasing traffic … has made it impossible to satisfactorily maintain the traffic-bound gravel road ... There is a continuing loss of surfacing material which is expensive and often difficult to replace.”
Initially, the remedy was ‘oiling,’ whereby heavy asphaltic oil was sprayed atop a layer of gravel or other base material; a process was also referred to as ‘inverted penetration.” Oiling was soon supplanted by paving with bituminous mix (asphalt)
,a process still in wide use. Paving with concrete was also performed, albeit on a limited basis initially. (Concrete is now used more commonly, primarily in urban or high traffic rural settings.) By 1939, more than 90 percent of the state highway system had been paved.
Wyoming Highway Patrol organized
During the 1920s and early 1930s, Wyoming had a state ‘Department of Law Enforcement’ in place, mainly to enforce Prohibition
. Over time, agents became increasingly busy enforcing motor vehicle laws, so when Prohibition ended, the need was apparent for some sort of regulation and enforcement authority on the highway with its steadily increasing traffic, including commercial vehicle regulation.
In response, the Wyoming Legislature authorized creation of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, effective June 1, 1933. Capt. George Smith, the first Patrol director, was also a visionary, pushing for a state speed limit and a driver licensing law years before they became a reality.
Primarily for logistical reasons, the Highway Patrol was affiliated the Highway Department, and that association has continued to the modern day.
Evolution of Aeronautics function
The Wyoming Legislature
established the Aeronautics Commission in 1937, with an initial focus on conducting search and rescue and enforcing licensing requirements. The role of Aeronautics has evolved to where its Commission’s primary job has become one of disbursing state funds to maintain and improve runways and buildings needed for cargo shipping, air taxis and ambulances, military transport, and commercial flights. Federal deregulation of airlines
in 1978, and Wyoming state government reorganization in the early 1990s, were significant factors in changed the Commission’s role and authority.
Interstate highway construction
After years of planning and no small amount of political maneuvering, construction of the Interstate highway system
began after Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
.
By 1960, interstate construction was going strong in Wyoming. Wyoming, 62 sections of new four-lane highway, encompassing nearly 600 miles (about two-thirds of the ultimate system) opened to traffic between 1960 and 1969. This busy decade of Interstate construction was topped off on Oct. 3, 1970 with the opening of the 77-mile Walcott
Jct.-Laramie segment of Interstate 80. This was longest single section of new interstate opened at one time, not only in Wyoming, but also anywhere in the U.S. The last gap in Wyoming’s interstate system was closed in October 1985.
Currently, there are 33000 miles (53,108.2 km) of public roadways in Wyoming. WYDOT manages 6,859 miles of road, of which only 405 miles are considered urban highways. There are 914 miles of Interstate in Wyoming.
Wyoming has 10 intercity bus organizations, serving 38 cities. There are 23 counties within Wyoming which have a total of 41 public transit systems. There are approximately 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) of rail in Wyoming, 100 of which are state-owned. Wyoming has nine primary service airports.
Wyoming has one of the nation's lowest fuel tax rates at 14 cents per gallon, which generates approximately $6.65 million per year.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. WYDOT’s stated mission is “to provide a safe, high quality, and efficient transportation system.”
With more than 2,000 employees based in about 60 locations, WYDOT constitutes Wyoming's largest and most widespread state agency. The department is responsible for planning and implementation of road improvement projects, conducting road maintenance, managing driver licenses and motor vehicle programs, supporting airports and aviation and coordinating with the Wyoming Highway Patrol
Wyoming Highway Patrol
The Wyoming Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for Wyoming, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Wyoming...
.
WYDOT headquarters are located in northwest Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
adjacent to the Central Avenue Interchange (exit 12) on I-25. In addition, road construction and maintenance operations are divided among five field districts, headquartered in Basin
Basin, Wyoming
Basin is a town in, and the county seat of, Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,239 at the 2000 census. The community is located near the center of the Bighorn Basin with the Big Horn River east of the town...
, Casper
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, Laramie
Laramie, Wyoming
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 30,816 at the . Located on the Laramie River in southeastern Wyoming, the city is west of Cheyenne, at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287....
, Rock Springs
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 18,708 at the 2000 census. Rock Springs is the principal city of the Rock Springs micropolitan statistical area, which has a population of 37,975....
and Sheridan
Sheridan, Wyoming
Sheridan is a city in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The 2010 census put the population at 17,444 and a Micropolitan Statistical Area of 29,116...
.
WYDOT was formed in 1991, incorporating the Wyoming Highway Department, along with the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission and transportation-related elements of the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Wyoming Public Service Commission.
The old Highway Department had existed since 1917, when it was created in response to the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916
Federal Aid Road Act of 1916
The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, 39 Stat. 355, was enacted on July 11, 1916, and was the first federal highway funding legislation in the United States. It was introduced by Rep. Dorsey W. Shackleford of Missouri, then amended by Sen. John H. Bankhead of Alabama to conform with model legislation...
, in which Congress decreed that as a prerequisite for the receipt of federal funds, a state must have a highway department (or similar agency) in place and functioning. Until that time, road improvements were the responsibility of local governments.
During the 1920s, as the pace of road improvement picked up, so did the need for maintenance. In Wyoming, the initial maintenance work was very basic in nature and carried on only during the summer. Winter motor travel was practically unknown in those days, consequently the agency’s maintenance forces were laid off in the fall of the year, with only a few mechanics retained to overhaul equipment.
Winter maintenance begins
Winter maintenance and snow removal
Snow removal
Snow removal is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done by both individual households and by governments and institutions.-De-icing and anti-icing:...
outside of the mountainous areas was first undertaken on a large scale in the fall of 1929. Some snow removal on a very limited mileage had been carried on since the Department bought its first snowplow in 1923, but the agency had acquired only 13 plows up until 1929. That year, another 33 plows were purchased.
By then, it was becoming obvious that taking steps to effective reduce snow drifting and accumulation on the roads was just as important as snow removal. The department began engineering grade raises, wider rights of way, removal of guardrail and similar drift-causing structures, and the first snow fence
Snow fence
A snow fence is a structure, similar to a sand fence, that forces drifting snow to accumulate in a desired place. They are primarily employed to minimize the amount of snowdrift on roadways and railways. Farmers and ranchers may use temporary snow fences to create large drifts in basins for a...
s were erected during this era
1930s: Paving work accelerated
While during the 1920s, the focus was mainly on “getting out of the mud;” with improvements consisting of improving drainage and topping roads with gravel. By the 1930s the Highway Department had raised its sights to providing durable all-weather surfacing.
An excerpt from the department’s 1930 annual report read, “The construction of … low-style surfaces such as gravel shale and crushed stone ... has only provided a temporary solution to the problems of providing adequate highways. Increasing traffic … has made it impossible to satisfactorily maintain the traffic-bound gravel road ... There is a continuing loss of surfacing material which is expensive and often difficult to replace.”
Initially, the remedy was ‘oiling,’ whereby heavy asphaltic oil was sprayed atop a layer of gravel or other base material; a process was also referred to as ‘inverted penetration.” Oiling was soon supplanted by paving with bituminous mix (asphalt)
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
,a process still in wide use. Paving with concrete was also performed, albeit on a limited basis initially. (Concrete is now used more commonly, primarily in urban or high traffic rural settings.) By 1939, more than 90 percent of the state highway system had been paved.
Wyoming Highway Patrol organized
During the 1920s and early 1930s, Wyoming had a state ‘Department of Law Enforcement’ in place, mainly to enforce Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. Over time, agents became increasingly busy enforcing motor vehicle laws, so when Prohibition ended, the need was apparent for some sort of regulation and enforcement authority on the highway with its steadily increasing traffic, including commercial vehicle regulation.
In response, the Wyoming Legislature authorized creation of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, effective June 1, 1933. Capt. George Smith, the first Patrol director, was also a visionary, pushing for a state speed limit and a driver licensing law years before they became a reality.
Primarily for logistical reasons, the Highway Patrol was affiliated the Highway Department, and that association has continued to the modern day.
Evolution of Aeronautics function
The Wyoming Legislature
Wyoming Legislature
The Wyoming State Legislature is the legislative branch of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is a bicameral state legislature, consisting of a 60 member Wyoming House of Representatives, and a 30 member Wyoming Senate. The legislature meets at the Wyoming State Capitol in Cheyenne...
established the Aeronautics Commission in 1937, with an initial focus on conducting search and rescue and enforcing licensing requirements. The role of Aeronautics has evolved to where its Commission’s primary job has become one of disbursing state funds to maintain and improve runways and buildings needed for cargo shipping, air taxis and ambulances, military transport, and commercial flights. Federal deregulation of airlines
Airline deregulation
Airline deregulation is the process of removing entry and price restrictions on airlines affecting, in particular, the carriers permitted to serve specific routes. In the United States, the term usually applies to the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978...
in 1978, and Wyoming state government reorganization in the early 1990s, were significant factors in changed the Commission’s role and authority.
Interstate highway construction
After years of planning and no small amount of political maneuvering, construction of the Interstate highway system
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
began after Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, popularly known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act , was enacted on June 29, 1956, when Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law...
.
By 1960, interstate construction was going strong in Wyoming. Wyoming, 62 sections of new four-lane highway, encompassing nearly 600 miles (about two-thirds of the ultimate system) opened to traffic between 1960 and 1969. This busy decade of Interstate construction was topped off on Oct. 3, 1970 with the opening of the 77-mile Walcott
Walcott, Wyoming
Walcott is an unincorporated community in central Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. It lies along local roads near Interstate 80 and the concurrent U.S. Routes 30 and 287, east of the city of Rawlins, the county seat of Carbon County. Its elevation is 6,627 feet...
Jct.-Laramie segment of Interstate 80. This was longest single section of new interstate opened at one time, not only in Wyoming, but also anywhere in the U.S. The last gap in Wyoming’s interstate system was closed in October 1985.
Currently, there are 33000 miles (53,108.2 km) of public roadways in Wyoming. WYDOT manages 6,859 miles of road, of which only 405 miles are considered urban highways. There are 914 miles of Interstate in Wyoming.
Wyoming has 10 intercity bus organizations, serving 38 cities. There are 23 counties within Wyoming which have a total of 41 public transit systems. There are approximately 2000 miles (3,218.7 km) of rail in Wyoming, 100 of which are state-owned. Wyoming has nine primary service airports.
Wyoming has one of the nation's lowest fuel tax rates at 14 cents per gallon, which generates approximately $6.65 million per year.