WYDOT, city, county, continue to discuss improvements to US 30

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Wyoming Department of Transportation, the city of Cheyenne, and Laramie County have continued to work together in recent months to identify short-term improvements that can be made to US 30 in east Cheyenne.

These improvements are in response to residents’ concerns about the area and are intended to further safety by modifying roadway features and changing driver behavior.

On May 6, weather permitting, construction will begin on the previously-announced offset right turn lane at eastbound US 30 and southbound Whitney Road. Once built, the lane will shift vehicles turning right onto Whitney Road away from US 30, providing drivers turning from Whitney Road better sight distance looking west.

In addition, WYDOT will now be constructing a similar offset right turn lane on the north side of US 30 to accommodate traffic turning from westbound US 30 to northbound Whitney Road.

Besides the turn lanes, WYDOT will be making other modifications to the US 30 corridor over the next several months, including:

• Installing 48-inch stop signs with flashing red beacons on Van Buren Avenue and Hayes Avenue,
• Repainting stop bars at US 30 intersections to make those brighter, and
• Adding overhead flashing beacon lights at US 30 and Whitney and US 30 and Dell Range. The light will flash red for side road traffic and yellow for mainline traffic.

WYDOT and local officials understand the concerns residents have with safety on the US 30 corridor from Pershing Boulevard east to Dell Range Boulevard. The new improvements are being added in anticipation of ongoing development in east Cheyenne.

“We are making these improvements in light of current and near-term traffic conditions,” District Engineer Tom DeHoff said. “These changes follow nationally-accepted best practices and are backed up by the traffic data we’ve collected along the corridor.”

Speed limits will be lowered to 45 mph during construction. Officers from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cheyenne Police Department have been out along the entire corridor from College Drive to Archer in recent weeks and will continue to provide enforcement. Fines will be higher in the work zone.

WYDOT conducted a speed analysis last year at the request of local residents. Based on traffic flow and well established safety considerations, the study supported leaving the existing limit in place. WYDOT will continue to monitor and evaluate the existing speed limit.

WYDOT also conducted an analysis for traffic signals along US 30, but intersections do not meet warrants for those signals at this time.

In 2022, a Laramie County project will reconstruct the intersection of US 30 and Dell Range Boulevard. The new intersection will be moved to the west and a traffic signal will be installed.

In 2024, WYDOT plans to widen US 30 to five lanes from Pershing Boulevard to Railroad Road near Archer. The US 30/Whitney Road intersection will also be signalized at that time, based on current projections.

For information about this news release, contact WYDOT District 1 public information specialist Matt Murphy at (307) 745-2142.