Black Mountain Road improvements planned

GDA Engineers held a public meeting with members of the steering committee last Thursday evening to discuss the Black Mountain Road planning study.

The purpose of the study is to determine what improvements are needed to upgrade nearly 9 miles of Black Mountain Road to make it safer for those traveling the road as well as meeting the needs for Hot Springs County in the future.

The meeting was the final one before GDA puts together a series of proposals based on input from the public and information gathered from their study. At least three alternative plans of action will be presented at the end of the study.

Currently, the road is experiencing drainage issues which are undermining the road surface and its base, deterioration of the roadway has led to a rutted, rough surface creating unsafe driving conditions and the surfacing has passed its usual life which will undoubtedly lead to a sharp decline in its usefulness over the coming years.

The section of road in question is approximately 11 miles from Lucerne and is used by ranchers moving their herds along with various oil and gas companies as well as hunters and others using the area for recreation.

GDA determined an upgrade to the road was necessary on a number of fronts.

According to records from the Hot Springs County Assessor's Office, tax revenues from the area's oil and gas industry amounted to $12 million over the past 10 years with $1.13 million in 2014 alone.

Deterioration of the road would make it difficult to access the wells and pipelines in the area, which could directly impact the county's tax base.

Use of the road by ranchers is another driving factor for an upgrade.

In the spring and fall, many ranchers use the road to move their herds from one grazing area to another. Most of the time, that moving is done by semi-truck.

With the deterioration of the road and the sharpness of the curves, moving the herds can sometimes be a harrowing endeavor.

In addition, some of the ranchers in the area have grazing land on one side of the road while the water supply for their herds is on the other side of the road.

GDA determined there would be no impact on the environment should reconstruction of the road be deemed the proper choice for the future.

Studies of air quality, water quality, wetlands, floodplains, farmlands and historic or archaeological categories indicated no potential environmental impacts as long as construction stayed within the current alignment of the road.

During their field investigation, GDA made an accounting of all the culverts along the section of road in question and found significant culvert and drainage issues abound.

Dusty Spomer with GDA said a majority of the culverts in the area are in a significant state of decline, showing erosion, sink holes, obstructions and damage to the point of being non-functioning, adding to the issue of drainage in the area.

According to GDA's study, 53% of the road's surface has failed with 37% in poor to serious condition.

Using ground penetrating radar they found as far as rutting of the road surface is concerned, 60% of it is fair with 30% being poor. That makes for a bumpy ride. As a matter of fact, it tells us 75% of the road ranks as poor as far as smoothness of ride.

The way the road was originally constructed and the various overlays on it over the years has been called into question as part of the problem.

However, GDA found the asphalt and base thickness, on average, is within normal levels. There are some sections though that have just two inches of asphalt over five to six inches of road base.

Taking all of these things into consideration, GDA used the Wyoming Department of Transportation's present serviceability scale and determined 100% of the road is in poor condition.

So how much traffic is there on Black Mountain Road?

Numbers from a 2009 field study done by Hot Springs County Road and Bridge, there is an average of 62 cars and trucks driving over this particular section of the road every day. That includes semi-truck and oil field trucks that are sometimes overweight.

While 62 is an average count, according to members of the public who attended the meeting, during hunting seasons those numbers are significantly higher for short periods of time.

Amazingly, considering the deterioration of the road, the sharpness of the curves and the speed at which most are driving the road, the crash data on the road is surprisingly low.

After visiting with the brand inspector, GDA found there is generally one cow killed on the road, on average, per year. Just 31 incidents were reported to the sheriff's office between 1995 and 2007. Those incidents included vehicle accidents, multi-vehicle accidents and run-ins with wildlife.

The biggest hurdle facing the county with the work that will need done is funding and where that funding will come from. Each of the alternatives that will be presented later will not only include the initial cost but the costs for maintenance in the upcoming years.

The next public meeting on the Black Mountain Road survey will be held Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. at the county annex.