GREEN RIVER – Community members gathered at the Sweetwater County Library Wednesday evening to discuss the possibility of an alternate road for locals to travel between Green River and Rock Springs.
On May 4, Representative Mark Baker, R-Green River, began discussions with the community on the alternate road and contacted both the Sweetwater County Commission and Green River City Council.
Baker’s goal is to find federal funding through the American Jobs Plan, with support from the Wyoming Department of Transportation. The American Jobs Plan is President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal to invest $ 2 trillion in US infrastructure over the next eight years.
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Studies have been carried out on the project in the past but would require an environmental study before the project could even be considered for funding. Baker said it could take up to two to four years for the study to complete, although it could be sooner.
Much of the hesitation on this project revolves around maintaining the road after it is built. Although Baker hopes the road could be a state road in Wyoming, if the route were a county road, maintenance would fall on the county. This means that not only is plowing in winter, but also crack seals and overburden are the responsibility of the district.
Baker said Wyoming hadn’t built a new state highway in over two decades, which is an obstacle to the state highway.
Gene Legerski, director of public works for Sweetwater County, said the county was already responsible for 1,200 miles of six-plow road. With immediate effect, he has $ 1.4 million a year at his disposal for the maintenance of these roads.
“I would like to have the road, I just have to be able to pay for it for the next 20 years,” said Legerski.
Despite concerns about future road maintenance, Baker said this was now an opportunity to be considered. He said not doing the project is like not redeeming a lottery ticket because you don’t want to pay taxes on it.
“This is a lottery ticket,” said Baker.
Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo said he was scared of the bulk of federal funds that are being passed on because local communities have to pay taxes on these projects and so it is not simply free government funding.
Kaumo encouraged his comments by saying that the community has bridges aged 40 to 60 that need repair and that money should be spent on existing infrastructure first before starting new projects. He said they should be careful about spending “one-time money on long-term projects” when they are already struggling to find funding to maintain current infrastructure.
Legerski also asked why the community should support the alternative road for federal funding, rather than current projects that have already been studied, such as the Baxter Road Project and the Flaming Gorge Way Corridor Project.
Baker said he believes these projects, for which studies have already been completed, would be better suited to funding the US rescue plan, which the Wyoming Legislature will fund during its special session this summer. He said he wanted the American employment plan to fund the alternative road as that money will be used for asphalt and bridge projects.
According to Baker, the importance of the alternative road is to protect local travelers from heavy traffic jams and semi-trailers when commuting between Rock Springs and Green River. He said there have been five deaths on the roads in Sweetwater County so far this year.
Some members of the community shared their own stories of traveling this stretch of the I80, where they were either almost driven off the road by semi-trailers or faced major delays or road closures. A Green River resident raised concerns that she and her husband are aging and may need an ambulance to take them to the hospital so the highway can be closed.
Another Green River resident said when she moved to Green River in the 1980s the old Lincoln Highway was used a lot. She said she didn’t see why they wouldn’t make it an option again.
Baker said he hoped for many more testimonies from constituents as to why they support this project so that he can bring all of that support into Wyoming lawmaking.
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