WYDOT advising drivers heading to Riverton work on WYO 789 has started

WYDOT advising drivers heading to Riverton work on WYO 789 has started

RIVERTON – If you are headed to Riverton on business or possibly looking for a weekend casino run, the Wyoming Department of Transportation is advising the Riverton South (Wyoming 789) project dirt work is under way

Excavation of topsoil and dirt work has started on the 3.32-mile highway improvement project directly south of Riverton on Wyoming 789.

Prime contractor of the $11.04 million project is LeGrand Johnson Construction Co., of Logan, Utah.

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“Excavation of topsoil has started, and after topsoil removal is completed, the contractor will begin building slopes for the new five-lane highway that is scheduled for completion this October,” said Robert Scheidemantel, Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer in Riverton.

Scheidemantel said construction of the five-lane highway and widening of the Little Wind Bridge have an Oct. 31 contract deadline, with the chip sealing and seeding contract deadline being June 30, 2016.

“Citizens will start to see the use of more flaggers and possible one-way traffic operations when the existing asphalt pavement is cut and milled,” Scheidemantel said. “At that point, drivers should expect delays of up to 10 minutes. We’d like to encourage people to allow for extra time of at least 10 minutes when driving to Lander, or when driving from Lander to Riverton.”

The pedestrian/bicycle pathway along Wyoming 789 remains closed. “For safety’s sake, we are asking all pedestrians to avoid the construction work zone,” Scheidemantel said.

Subcontractor Cannon Builders, Inc., of Blackfoot, Idaho, is scheduled to continue bridge improvements over the Little Wind River. “The superstructure of the bridge, along with the new bridge deck and approach slabs, will be placed this summer,” Scheidemantel said.

The speed limit is 30 mph through the area where the Little Wind Bridge is being widened to five lanes; this lower speed limit may expand as highway improvements progress.

“Please buckle up and please be aware that more workers and equipment are working in the area between 789 Casino and Wind River Casino and beyond,” Scheidemantel said.

When the Riverton South project is complete, a new five-lane roadway will stretch from the Big Wind River bridge on Riverton’s south edge to south of Wind River Casino on Wyoming 789.

The scope of work for the Riverton South project includes grading, draining, bridge widening, milling of asphalt pavement, removal and replacement of the existing temporary traffic signal at the Wyoming 137/Wyoming 789 intersection, placement of crushed gravel and new asphalt pavement, chip sealing, electrical work, guardrail removal and replacement, fencing and other work on 3.32 miles of Wyoming 789 beginning at milepost 100.86 between Hudson and Riverton.