Closed except to local traffic

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) are hoping to prevent travelers misguided by their GPS from going down at least one county road.

On December 17, the commissioners authorized a letter from Carbon County Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz to the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT). The letter, which Fritz read at the meeting, requests WYDOT install a seasonal closure gate on Wyoming Highway 71 south of Rawlins.

"We feel a good place for this sign or gate would be right at Milepost 1.25. There's also a turnaround spot here. As you know, County Road 401-Sage Creek-connects to Highway 71 just south of Rawlins," Fritz read from the letter. "In the event when WYDOT closes I-80, many travelers try to use [the] county road as an alternate route."

"For safety reasons, traffic needs to be alerted and turned around before they reach the county section of road. The requested sign or gate would be very beneficial in both the winter and summer months when the interstate is closed." ~ Kandis Fritz

Using the route could be life threatening to travelers, said Fritz. Especially during the winter months when County Road 401 is not maintained. According to the Carbon County Snow Removal Plan, which was approved in February 2020, County Road 401 is not seasonally maintained from milepost 5.7 to milepost 34.5. The county road does connect to Wyoming Highway 70 south of Encampment, but not before it turns into Forest Service Road 801.

"Carbon County does have a half-closure gate and closure signs along our road but travelers following their GPS don't always adhere to our signs or even the gates. Many of them wind up getting stuck and calling for help," Fritz further read from the letter. "For safety reasons, traffic needs to be alerted and turned around before they reach the county section of road. The requested sign or gate would be very beneficial in both the winter and summer months when the interstate is closed."

In the letter, Fritz also clarified that County Road 401 is not closed to local traffic as many residents use it to access cabins, go ice fishing or ride snow machines.

A motion to authorize Chairperson Sue Jones' signature on the letter passed unanimously.

"Even if they would move the seasonal closure to our county road, then it would populate in most every GPS," said Commissioner John Espy.

Fritz told the commissioners the county may see some pushback from WYDOT on the request. According to Fritz, she had already had some communication with the state department and was told they didn't want to put a hard closure on Wyoming Highway 71.

"It's not a hard closure, it's alerting traffic that it is closed and, as we discussed, there's no cell phone service when you're out into those neck of the woods," said Fritz. "People just continue to go."

The county has struggled for the past several years to keep people traveling through Carbon County from going onto county roads and becoming stranded. This also isn't the first time the county has worked with WYDOT regarding County Road 401. In 2022, Fritz presented Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to the commissioners for County Road 500 and County Road 401 which would show the two county roads as closed when Wyoming Highway 70 closed for the season.

County Road 500-also known as Jack Creek Road-has been an issue for the county as well during closures of Interstate 80.

"We don't have a problem unless it [Interstate 80] closes. We saw last fall, when they closed it because of the wreck and that fire that was on the interstate, they [drivers] were going down Jack Creek," said Fritz. "We had tons of traffic going down Jack Creek. It's not suitable for all of that."

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on January 7 at the Carbon Building - Courthouse Annex in Rawlins.