WYDOT Sheridan Main Street Construction Plan Mostly Set

WYDOT plans for the downtown Sheridan Main Street Construction Project are mostly set, except for an exact start date and a lead contractor.

Beginning in April 2023, WYDOT will use a 3-block rolling closure system to remove and replace the concrete on a total of 7 blocks or approximately ½ mile of highway, between 1st Street and the intersection of Main, Coffeen and Burkitt Streets.

Three blocks of Main Street will be closed at a time, and when crews finish one block, they will reopen it and then close the next block southward.

Since each block differs in size, the amount of time it will take construction crews to finish each block will also differ.

In addition, WYDOT will be upgrading traffic signal infrastructure and updating sidewalk corners to make them ADA compliant, but will do nothing to the main stretch of sidewalk from one intersection to the next, thus pedestrian traffic can still access businesses along the street.

The bridge over Little Goose Creek will also be rehabilitated.

While that’s going on, the city of Sheridan will replace underground water and sewer lines that currently have been there, along with the concrete, for more than 50 years.

Jake Whisonant is the WYDOT Sheridan Resident Engineer.

He says the time is near to do all the work, because putting it off could be more costly down the road.

“The pavement has reached its useful life span. It is approximately 50 years old. It’s time to replace it. It is getting to be more expensive to maintain than it is to replace with new, so the time has come and we want to reduce the impact on Sheridan and on the downtown businesses as much as possible, and we’re definitely going to work to do that.”

WYDOT anticipates the project will take 2 construction seasons to complete, meaning it will run from April through October of 2023 and 2024.

Detours will be posted and motorists will be encouraged to travel either on Brooks, Gould or Scott and Broadway Streets to get around the road work.