The Wyoming Department of Transportation, along with contract crews from Oftedal Construction Inc., got to work quickly on a project to improve pedestrian accessibility at the intersections of Pine Avenue and South Main Street, as well as Pine Avenue and JC Penney Drive, otherwise known as the Triangle in downtown Kemmerer.

The project was awarded in August of this year, and crews mobilized quickly to complete as much of the work as possible this construction season.  Currently, crews have completed the concrete work, and are moving forward with the installation of the light poles and signage.

“We’ll do as much as possible to make sure that seeding for the landscaping takes this winter, and then place sod as needed next spring. But the bulk of the work is finishing up this week,” resident engineer Jennifer Hoffman said.

The project was programmed into WYDOT’s state transportation improvement program as a result of a formal complaint about accessibility sent to the US Department of Justice.  After reviewing the area, WYDOT proposed to update the curb ramps and sidewalk access at the above noted intersections to address the complaint.

“One set of obstructions that were of particular concern to the department during the design process were the posts that supported the button activated flashing pedestrian lights at both of the intersections. The bases of these posts were not in an ADA compliant location. Relocating them, and the associated pedestrian warning system, would have been difficult and expensive,” resident engineer Jennifer Hoffman said.

WYDOT met with the Kemmerer City Council earlier last year to discuss the project and the proposed improvements, as well as the removal of the pedestrian warning system. WYDOT agreed to collect pedestrian crossing data to see if the pedestrian warning system met warrants for replacement and the subsequent data indicated that there was not enough significant pedestrian usage to warrant an upgraded pedestrian warning system.

“If the city still desires to have the pedestrian warning system in the downtown area, WYDOT would allow that, but the cost of upgrades and installation would fall on the local government. We will continue to monitor pedestrian and traffic counts in the future, and if this area meets warrants for a pedestrian warning system, we will take a look at programming a project for that,” Hoffman said.

For future pedestrian access, the crosswalks will remain at these intersections. WYDOT would like to remind drivers that, legally, a vehicle traffic must stop for any pedestrian wanting to cross in any direction at either intersection at the Triangle. The crosswalks are on WYDOT’s list to be re-striped in the near future. In addition, WYDOT will be replacing a significant amount of the sidewalk and curb and gutter on the city of Kemmerer’s right-of-way at no cost to the city.

WYDOT would like to remind drivers to drive safely, put your phone down, be aware of roadside flaggers and obey all roadside signs and closures.  For more information on road closures and weather conditions, please visit http://www.wyoroad.info.

The Kemmerer streets project work encompasses ADA upgrades involving sidewalk/curb and gutter, electrical, concrete paving, traffic control, signing, pavement striping and aggregate surfacing work at various locations in the town of Kemmerer. The completion date for the project is June 30, 2025.