Discussion on rerouting Interstate 80

COVID-19 has taken its toll on a lot of levels throughout the country, Wyoming included. In fact, it brought fewer people on our roadways this year as stay at home orders were put in place across the country.

During a recent meeting of the Joint Transportation and Military Affairs Committee the numbers show an 18-percent decrease in daily traffic on Wyoming’s highways since March. That is just one-percent better than nationwide, which showed a 19-percent decrease in daily traffic.

After the number of accidents and closures, some of which lasted a couple of days at a time, the committee began discussing the possibility of rerouting Interstate 80 during the winter months to reduce weather related closures.

The rerouting would require a minimum of seven interchanges and a realignment or reconstruction of minor portions of WYO 72. WYO 487, WYO 13 and WYO 34.

This would take the route around communities such as Medicine Bow, Rock River and Laramie.

The committee discussed three options with relocation and expansion of the Interstate, the first being to add a new third lane in both directions that would add no new miles to the roadway. This would come at a cost of about $6.5 billion.

The second option would also add an additional lane in each direction as well as the realignment mentioned above, adding about 95 miles to the Interstate. This option would have a $12.6 billion dollar price tag.

The final option, and cheapest at just $6.1 billion, would be adding two new lanes in each direction near US 30, again, adding about 95 miles.

Ten climbing lanes would have to be added in, too at $68 million for 13.6 miles.

The committee looked at the difference in costs when comparing going from a two lane to a four lane, $4,680,000 per mile and going from a two lane to a five lane, $3,120,000 per mile.

Also on the table was a discussion by the committee regarding transportation funding options. With the downturn in oil, Wyoming is going to have shortfalls that could affect the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s (WYDOT) ability to maintain roads and infrastructure.

Significant additional revenue is going to be required and several funding mechanisms were talked about.

One of those mechanisms is an additional one-percent tax on fuel that could raise an additional $8.3 million for the state. Another is adding another dollar to vehicle registrations that would mean an additional $4.3 million.

An additional one-percent increase in vehicle sales tax, however, could raise as much as $15 million.

A one-percent increase in rental car usage taxes and an increase in fuel tax dealer license fees, anywhere from $25 to $100, would add about $142,000 to the coffers.

Using all of the above suggestions would add a total of $27,826,480 in a single year.

Another item they’re considering is a road usage charge, which could, in itself, bring in a little over $104 million a year.

A road usage charge (RUC) is also known as a mileage based user fee, a distance based charge, or a vehicle mileage tax. It is normally imposed to provide revenue for an entire roadway system as opposed to a toll system, which is for a single section of road.

The RUC is something that would apply to all public roads within the state at all times.