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Tyler Johnson, [email protected]
SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYOMING (March 30, 2021) – A toll road along Interstate-80 will take a number of years before it can go into effect, according to Wyoming Department of Transportation Director Luke Reiner.
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On Friday, March 19, Wyoming State Senators narrowly approved Senate File 73, which would eventually make the interstate stretch in Wyoming a toll road. However, according to Reiner, the approval only allows WYDOT to bring forth a plan. A toll road won’t become effect for several years.
“It remains under legislative control,” Reiner said, adding that they are estimating about two years to build a plan for legislatures to approve. “Our goal is to be up and running in about five years.”
Even if Wyoming State Representatives vote to allow WYDOT to move forward in building a plan for the toll road, it can still be voted against later if state legislatures don’t like the plan.
Reiner said that WYDOT and the state cannot make any money from a toll road, adding that it takes about $100 million to maintain I-80. He said WYDOT spends about $60 million a year on it. “That’s why you see it deteriorating all the time because there’s not enough revenue to maintain,” he said.
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The tolling locations on I-80 will not be manned, Reiner said. A system will be made so that drivers do not need to stop to pay the toll, similar to an EZ Tag system.
Forming a plan will include assessing how much revenue needs to be made and setting a toll that covers that cost but also makes it affordable for people to drive on it.
Reiner also said that making I-80 a toll road shouldn’t have much effect on semitrucks and other traveling business vehicles from commuting through Wyoming because other alternative routes going west to east, or east to west, is either Interstate-70 or Interstate-90.
Reiner noted that I-70 is “too hilly” and goes through major traffic problems in Denver. He said that I-90 is too far north and could cause problems for travelers during severe weather conditions.
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