Pavement improvement project to start this month west of Riverton

RIVERTON, Wyo – A $4.85 million pavement improvement project is scheduled to begin this month on U.S. 26 west of Riverton.

The project includes asphalt pavement surfacing, milling, chip sealing, traffic control and other work on 5.71 miles of U.S. 26 between milepost 125.0 (just east of Eight Mile Road) and milepost 130.7 (east of Mountain View Cemetery at the LeClair Canal bridge).

Prime contractor is Mountain Construction Co., of Lovell.

"The contractor's schedule calls for asphalt milling beginning Monday, April 28," said Wyoming Department of Transportation resident engineer Robert Scheidemantel of Riverton. "More than 28,000 tons of asphalt paving are scheduled to begin in early May, with highway chip sealing scheduled in early June."

Motorists should expect traffic delays of up to 20 minutes between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A focus of this project will be aimed at reducing reflective and thermal cracking of the U.S. 26 highway surface between Riverton and Eight Mile Road.

"Millions of high-tensile strength aramid fibers will be dispersed into each ton of asphalt mix  during the hot plant production process on this project," said Scheidemantel. "Using aramid fiber is the simplest, most cost-effective way of reinforcing asphalt pavement, with benefits including greater resistance to reflective and thermal cracking, rutting and crack propagation.

"Fiber-reinforced asphalt mixes build stronger, more durable pavements, and significantly reduce life-cycle costs of roadways," Scheidemantel said.

As part of the project, a half-mile of the project will have glass fiber mat placed underneath the final layer of asphalt pavement overlay as a way of testing other products for reducing existing crack reflection.

The Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded the bid to Mountain Construction Co., in September 2024. Contract completion date is Oct. 31, 2025.

Project questions may be directed to WYDOT resident engineer Robert Scheidemantel, P.E., or project engineer Douglas Etsinger, P.E., at (307) 856-1341.

Information about this news release may be obtained by contacting WYDOT public relations specialist Cody Beers at (307) 431-1803.