Wyoming project creates nearly 200 truck parking spaces

The Quealy Dome truck parking lot off Interstate 80, just west of Laramie, Wyo., is near completion.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for later this month to announce the official completion of the project which will bring the total truck parking spaces in this region to almost 200.

Located at mile marker 290 off I-80, the project also included adding truck passing lanes to increase safety and traffic flow on steep inclines, said the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

“This additional truck parking is much-needed,” District 1 construction engineer Wes Bybee said. “The additional parking areas can help reduce the number of fall-asleep crashes, reduce crashes and operating costs for trucks searching for parking and offer truck drivers an alternative place to park and wait out poor weather conditions.”

Truck parking is also available at the Fort Steel Rest Area at mile marker 228.

The truck climbing lanes are located at Halleck Ridge between mile markers 250.5 and 252.5, as well as at Cooper Cove between mile markers 279.5 and 281.5.

Additional features of the project include 12 miles of wildlife fencing, over 6 miles of pavement preservation overlay and a new salt/sand storage building at Quealy Dome.

WYDOT said it received a federal BUILD grant of $20 million in 2018 to help fund the project which had a total budget of $34 million.

The completion goal for the project was fall 2023. LL

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