Ranchester bridge will close to traffic for three nights in early May

The Wyoming Department of Transportation and the Prime Contractor, will be closing the existing bridge of the current bridge project located just east of the town of Ranchester on US 14.

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Senior Public Relations Specialist Laura Dalles told listeners the bridge will be closed to all traffic for three nights in early May to offload and place steel girders onto the new bridge structure.

Dalles also gave an explanation behind the replacement of the bridge with a new structure. 

According to Dalles, the exact dates are yet to be determined as the contractor awaits the delivery of the girders. Once the girders are received, the dates will be announced. WYDOT believes this will most likely be within the first two weeks of May. These three night closures will be from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. 

A public meeting is being held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, April 28, at the Tongue River Valley Community Center in Ranchester. Residents of the Ranchester and Dayton communities and local commuters are encouraged to attend to get more information about this closure.

Dalles reports that detours have been identified for commercial and local traffic and to accommodate all emergency management vehicles. Local traffic will be asked to utilize WYO 345 and Railroad Street in Ranchester, while commercial traffic will be detoured onto WYO 345 – Parkman Road to the Dayton cut-off – WYO 343 east of the Town of Dayton.