CASPER, Wyo. — Local residents received updates on proposed changes to the region’s long-term transportation plan Tuesday afternoon at a meeting hosted by the Casper Area MPO. Specifically, the public meeting aimed to share details regarding amendments to the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan, a coordinated effort between local governments to outline road, trail and transit improvements through 2029.
Casper Area MPO Director Beth Andress said the plan sees amendments each year, as local governments declare what funding for various roads projects are slated to come from state and federal dollars.
“Today we’re looking at the TIP, where each one of our member entities declares where they’re going to seek federal or state funding and grants over the next four years,” she said. “Not every project is going to be included, because it’s just local funding it won’t be in it. But to be eligible for federal funding on those arterials, it has to be in the TIP.”
Amended projects include updated timelines, scopes or total budgets for numerous projects, including the mill and overlay on Goose Egg Road, improvements to the Yellowstone Highway and 1st Street intersection, the planned North Platte pedestrian bridge, the Riverfront Pathways project, road work in downtown Casper and more. The full list of TIP projects with amendments can be viewed here.
Many of the projects relate to the Robertson Road corridor that runs through Natrona County. This comes following the recent completion of a study into the roadway by HDR Engineering, with recommendations for projects in Casper, Mills and Bar Nunn.
According to Andress, the study analyzed several intersections, roadways around schools and other areas that see heavy congestion. Robertson Road intersections that were looked at include Poison Spider Road, Buckboard Road, Trevett Lane and CY Avenue, Andress said.
“The consultant looked at traffic and parking issues, and then safety issues with two schools and kids’ ability to walk,” she said. “But mainly we were looking at congestion and the ability to turn, especially with the new homes being built [in the Mills area].”
The study recommends a standard intersection with left and right turn lanes for the Poison Spider Road intersection. The recommendation also includes adding a signal to the intersection once traffic volumes meet established thresholds. The design adds sidewalk and curb ramps to all four quadrants and installs marked crosswalks across all four approaches.
Planners also suggest restricting full access points within 550 feet of the intersection to preserve safety and operational capacity.
In the Buckboard Road area, the recommendation is to extend a three-lane corridor section southward to Village Drive. The plan maintains the existing shared turn lane for eastbound traffic while adding a continuous center left turn lane on Robertson Road.
To improve sight lines for drivers, the Buckboard Road crosswalk will be shifted east, closer to the main road. The study also proposes installing curb, gutter and landscaping in the gravel median near Oregon Trail Elementary School to prohibit illegal parking. Additionally, the study recommends a secondary school access point south of Buckboard Road to alleviate peak-hour congestion.
For Trevett Lane, the long-term recommendation is a single-lane roundabout. This intersection will be shifted to the southwest into what is currently a gravel parking area. This roundabout would be intended to serve as a neighborhood gateway and a traffic-calming feature that discourages heavy trucks from using residential sections of the corridor, the study reports.
Under this plan, direct access from the City of Casper parking lot to Robertson Road would be closed, with a new connection provided through the neighboring state agency access to the west.
At the southern end of the corridor at CY Avenue and Aster Street, recommended improvements include the installation of southbound left turn lanes to reduce vehicle queuing. The proposal recommends extending the southbound left turn lane at Aster Street and adding a new northbound pocket left turn lane to keep through-traffic moving. Safety modifications call for closing the Upper Aster access point due to a reported dangerous proximity to the CY Avenue signal.
Planners also suggest assessing the feasibility of flattening the steep approach grade on southbound Robertson Road to improve winter driving safety.
Andress said the study determined that many of the areas of congestion were specific to certain times of the day, such as the Buckboard Road intersection, where Oregon Trail Elementary causes traffic to back up in the mornings and afternoons.
Now, Andress said, it is up to the local municipal governments to ultimately approve future work and associated funding.
“The study provides several options for the areas it looked at,” Andress said. “Now it’s up to Casper and Mills to look over those options and recommendations and determine how they want to proceed.”
The full results of the study can be viewed below:
