CHEYENNE, WY — The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is installing more travel lanes along WYO 59 near Wright to help with traffic flow.

The Wyoming Transportation Commission awarded Riverside Contracting, of Missoula, Montana, a $14.6-million contract for the work on WYO 59 between Douglas and Gillette in Campbell County. For the WYO 59 work, crews will widen six miles of road near Wright and create five lanes — two for northbound traffic, two for southbound traffic and a center turning lane. Currently there are two travel lanes, one going in each direction, and a center turning lane.

The additional lanes will help accommodate increased traffic flow from the oil fields and other areas. In addition, crews will install about eight miles of new fence and make electrical upgrades to light poles. The contract completion date is June 30, 2021.

Other contracts the commission awarded included pavement resurfacing, crack-sealing work and stockpiling of salt for winter maintenance.

Mountain Construction Co., of Lovell, was awarded a $4.9-million resurfacing contract on 16 miles of Interstate 25 between Casper and Kaycee in Natrona County. Crews will also perform minor work on four bridges in the area. The bridge work includes repairing slope paving and replacing compression joint material, which is used to keep harmful material out of expansion joints. The contract completion date is October 31, 2020.

Simon Contractors, of Cheyenne, won a $4.1-million resurfacing project on about 10 miles of WYO 230 near Woods Landing in Albany County. Crews will put a plant-mix overlay on the road to improve the driving surface. WYDOT has completed similar work on other sections of WYO 230. The contract completion date is October 31, 2020.

The commission also awarded Simon Contractors a $4.6-million contract for a resurfacing project on Interstate 80 in Telephone Canyon between Laramie and Cheyenne in Albany County. Crews will replace the existing high-performance wearing course with new material. The work is needed because the existing material is losing some of its traction. WYDOT installed the material about 10 years ago to provide a safer road surface on the steeper slopes in that area. The contract completion date is October 31, 2020.