Paradise Road to get turning lane

by Cat Urbigkit

Bob Maxam of the Wyoming Department of Transportation told Sublette County Commissioners that his agency will install a turning lane on Highway 351 at Paradise Road in 2006, but will be unable to install a turning lane at the landfill turnoff next summer. The commission indicated that it will hire a firm to install the turning lane at the landfill next summer rather than delaying the project.

County Road Superintendent Travis Sour also drew the commission’s attention to the condition of Horse Creek and Calpet roads. Commission Chairman Gordon Johnston noted that eight years ago, the county spent $3 million on the chip-seal project on Horse Creek Road, which he opposed.

Maxam said from an engineering standpoint, these two roads are “plum scary” and work on the roads should involve qualified engineers from his agency’s Cheyenne office to offer their technical expertise.

Sour indicated that Horse Creek Road may need to be paved, but Commissioner Betty Fear said the county needs to look at roads that get high industrial use when it considers paving.

Commissioner Bill Cramer added, “and Horse Creek isn’t one of them,” which Fear confirmed.

Fear said she doesn’t deny that the road gets a lot of traffic, but feels that roads receiving heavy use by industry need to be dealt with first.

That brought Paradise Road back up for discussion. Sour pointing out that if landowners would allow a bridge to be constructed crossing the New Fork River, industrial traffic could be directed to use the North Jonah Road, cross the river on a new bridge, and travel up the Anticline Crest Road, dramatically reducing the amount of traffic using both Paradise Road and Boulder South.

Johnston said such an idea has been talked about before and suggested that the only answer at this point is to offer the landowners bags of money, “so full of money that it couldn’t be turned down.”

Sour said that the bridge would “benefit everybody,” and said he would work to bring all the parties together to discuss the issue once again.