Work on a multi-year project to make safety improvements to a roughly 60-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in Wyoming infamous for icy, treacherous road conditions has resumed.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation's I-80 Winter Freight Project, which began in the fall of 2020, will add nearly 200 new truck parking spaces at the Fort Steele rest area east of Rawlins and the Quealy Dome parking area west of Laramie.

"Simon Contractors have already started work building almost 100 new semi-truck parking spaces," said WYDOT spokeswoman Andrea Staley.

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Staley says the rest area will remain closed during construction, and flaggers may be present to direct local traffic through the area.

"Please avoid parking on the on- and off-ramps in the Fort Steele interchange as it will likely impede work at the rest area," Staley said. "Once the project is complete, the rest area will reopen."

New climbing lanes are also being installed over Halleck Ridge and near Cooper Cove, but Staley says traffic on I-80 will see minimal impacts.

"There will be short lane closures in the eastbound lanes over Halleck Ridge west of Elk Mountain and westbound lanes between Cooper Cove and Quealy Dome near the Albany County line," said Staley.

"Watch for lane closures, reduced speed limits, and other traffic changes during construction," she added. "Avoid distractions like cell phones when driving through work zones."

The project is expected to be completed by October 2022, but that could change depending on the weather and material or equipment availability.

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