New truck parking and access lanes to open on Highway 80 in Wyoming

Truckers in Wyoming will soon have a safe place to wait out winter storms and highway closures.

On Wednesday, September 20, the Wyoming Department of Transportation will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Interstate 80 Winter Freight/BUILD project.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. at the Quealy Dome truck stop at mile marker 290 on Highway 8080.

The goal of the project is to provide a safe place for truck drivers to rest or wait out winter storms and closures. The project will also create additional truck detour lanes, which will improve the safety of motorists and improve traffic flow on steep slopes.

The project's new truck stops are concentrated along I-80, specifically at the Quealy Dome at mile marker 290 and the Fort Steele Rest Area at mile marker 228, for a total of approximately 200 spaces. The truck lift lanes are located in the Halleck Ridge area, between mile markers 250.5-252.5 in the eastbound lane, and in the Cooper Cove area, between mile markers 279.5-281.5 in the westbound lane.

Additionally, the project includes 12 miles of wildlife fencing in the Halleck Ridge area, more than 6 miles of pavement preservation and a new salt and sand storage building at Quealy Dome.

In 2018, DTSHV applied for and received a $20 million federal BUILD grant.

The total project budget was $34 million. Simon Contractors received the tender in 2020 and began work in the fall of that year.