Placement of gravel base scheduled to begin Monday on WY132 project near Ethete

Placement of crushed gravel base and paving were topics of a WYO 132 highway improvement project public meeting Wednesday afternoon at the Wyoming Indian High School.

Representatives from prime contractor High Country Construction, Inc., of Lander and Wyoming Department of Transportation were on hand to share project scheduling information and answer questions about progress of the reconstruction project between Ethete and US 287.

Dirt grading is nearing completion on the on the $14.63 million WYO 132 (Blue Sky Highway) highway improvement project, and placement of six inches of crushed gravel base is scheduled to start Monday at the south end of the project.

The contractor is scheduled to place about 37,000 cubic yards of crushed gravel base on the roadway, and about the same amount of asphalt pavement in the coming weeks.

"When paving is complete, this project will be 85-90 percent complete," WYDOT Lander project engineer Brian Martin told about 15 citizens at Wednesday afternoon's meeting.

Work is ongoing on fencing, irrigation structures and the separated pedestrian pathway between Ethete and Wyoming Indian Elementary School. The contractor is also rebuilding the intersection of WYO 132 and US 287 at the south end of the project.

"Paving activities are still several weeks from beginning," said WYDOT resident engineer Erik Smith of Lander. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

Improvements on the Blue Sky highway improvement project include grading, draining, milling asphalt pavement, placing gravel pit run and crushed gravel, asphalt paving, chip sealing, electrical work and other work on seven miles of WYO 132 north of Lander.

Real-time project updates on the Blue Sky Highway (WYO 132) project are available at #abetterbluesky.

For information about WYDOT's work, contact WYDOT public relations specialist Cody Beers at (307) 431-1803.