New Web cams, electronic message signs coming in two WYDOTprojects
by Wyoming Department of Transportation
March 24, 2009
Nine new electronic message signs, seven new Web cameras and 29 additional road weather information systems will be installed along Wyoming’s highways under two projects scheduled to be completed this fall to help keep WYDOT and motorists informed of road conditions.
Most of the new devices will be divided among the state’s three interstate highways. Six of the new overhead dynamic message signs will be on Interstate 80, and three on Interstate 25. Six of the new Web cameras will provide views of Interstate 90.
The projects are part of the department’s continuing effort to improve its capability to keep travelers informed on conditions on the road so they can make informed decisions about their trips.
The new electronic message signs will replace smaller, less versatile rotating drum message signs and be installed over both lanes of I-25 north of Cheyenne and over the southbound lanes south of Wheatland. On I-80, the signs will be installed over both lanes at the Hadsell Interchange west of Rawlins and between Rawlins and Sinclair, and over the westbound lanes east of the Fort Bridger and Little America interchanges.
Twenty-one road weather information systems will be installed on I-80, including 15 to provide additional information on conditions on the section between Laramie and Rawlins, where WYDOT is now using variable speed limit signs to slow traffic to a speed safe for conditions. Other locations for the weather systems include Evanston, Bridger Valley Interchange, Green River, Rock Springs, Point of Rocks Interchange, and GL Road Interchange.
The stations monitor air, pavement and subsurface temperatures, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, humidity and the dew point to help WYDOT determine what maintenance is needed to keep the roads safe and give travelers information on the conditions they’ll encounter on the road.
Installation of the electronic message signs and weather sensors on I-80 and I-25 is expected to be done by Sept. 30.
The six Web cameras to be installed on I-90 will be located just south of the Montana border, and near the Ranchester, Indian Creek, Kingsbury Road, Inyan Kara and Beulah interchanges.
Road weather information systems also will be installed at each of those locations except the Ranchester Interchange.
WYO 387 will get a Web camera and weather sensor installed at its intersection with WYO 50 at Pine Tree Junction.
The Web cameras and weather stations are expected to be installed by Oct. 31.
All the work will be done by Casper’s Modern Electric Co. under two contracts awarded by the Wyoming Transportation Commission. Modern Electric’s low bid for the electronic message sign and weather sensor installation was $4 million, and its contract for the Web camera and weather sensor installation in northeast Wyoming is for $532,000.
Other contracts awarded by the commission included a $2.7 million contract won by Torrington’s Heggem Construction to rebuild Nolan Avenue in Kaycee between Old Barnum Road and WYO 192. The road will be rebuilt to current standards, including two 12-foot travel lanes and eight feet of parking on either side. Because asphalt prices remain at record levels, contractors were allowed to submit bids for using either concrete or asphalt paving, and the concrete alternative was determined to be the most cost-effective. Work is expected to begin in early April and the contract completion date is Oct. 31.
Casper’s McMurry Ready-Mix was awarded a $1.4 million contract for a pavement overlay on 5.6 miles of US 16 in the Newcastle area. Once the work begins, it is expected to take two to three weeks to finish. The contract completion date is Oct. 31.
Cheyenne’s Reiman Corp. will repair a US 14-16-20 bridge damaged by a mudslide last year under a $318,000 contract that carries a Sept. 30 completion date. The bridge, about a quarter mile east of Yellowstone National Park’s east entrance, needs a new exterior girder, partial deck replacement and abutment repairs. The bridge has been closed for the winter, and when the repairs begin it will be restricted to one-lane one-way traffic controlled by a temporary traffic signal.
|
