Interstate 80 (I-80) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from San Francisco to Teaneck, New Jersey. In Wyoming, the Interstate Highway runs 402.780 miles (648.212 km) from the Utah state line near Evanston east to the Nebraska state line in Pine Bluffs. I-80 connects Cheyenne, Wyoming's capital and largest city, with several smaller cities along the southern tier of Wyoming, including Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs, Rawlins, and Laramie. The highway also connects those cities with Salt Lake City to the west and Omaha to the east. In Cheyenne, I-80 intersects I-25 and has Wyoming's only auxiliary Interstate, I-180. The Interstate runs concurrently with U.S. Route 30 (US 30) for most of their courses in Wyoming. I-80 also has shorter concurrencies with US 189 near Evanston, US 191 near Rock Springs, and US 287 and Wyoming Highway 789 (WYO 789) near Rawlins. The Interstate has business loops through all six cities along its course as well as a loop serving Fort Bridger and Lyman east of Evanston.
Video Interstate 80 in Wyoming
Route description
Evanston to Rock Springs
I-80 enters Uinta County concurrent with US 189 from Summit County, Utah, west of Evanston, the county seat of Uinta County. The Interstate parallels the Union Pacific Railroad's Evanston Subdivision rail line to Yellow Creek, east of which the railroad parallels the creek northeast and the highway heads east into the city of Evanston. I-80 Bus. and US 189 Bus. split northeast onto Harrison Drive. I-80 has an interchange with WYO 150 (Front Street) just south of downtown Evanston and cross over the railroad line and the Bear River shortly before the business routes, which use Bear River Drive) rejoin the Interstate on the eastern edge of the city. I-80 and US 189 continue east through interchanges with Painter Road and Divide Road before the U.S. Highway splits northeast toward Kemmerer.
I-80 continues east through interchanges with Coal Road and Bar Hat Road and crosses over the Union Pacific rail line just west of the Leroy Road interchange. The highway has more minor junctions with French Road, Bigelow Road, and Union Road before I-80 Bus. splits southeast toward Fort Bridger. I-80 parallels Blacks Fork of the Green River through interchanges with WYO 412 and WYO 414 north of Mountain View and WYO 413 north of Lyman before crossing over the river. The Interstate crosses over Smiths Fork, a tributary of Blacks Fork, before I-80 Bus. rejoins the mainline. I-80 has a junction with Church Butte Road before entering Sweetwater County. The highway meets the western end of WYO 374 south of Granger and has a trumpet interchange with US 30, which joins the Interstate in the first of several concurrencies east to Nebraska. A second segment of WYO 374 begins at the first interchange east of US 30 that serves Little America.
I-80 and US 30 parallel WYO 374 through a junction with Westvaco Road, across Blacks Fork again, and across the railroad before an interchange with WYO 374 and WYO 372. The Interstate has an interchange with Covered Wagon Road just west of its crossing of the Green River at James Town. I-80 and US 30 parallel the river and WYO 374 to the city of Green River, the county seat of Sweetwater County. The highway has trumpet interchanges with I-80 Bus. and US 30 Bus. on either side of the city; between the interchanges, the Interstate passes through the dual Green River Tunnel. The business route connects I-80 with WYO 530 (Uinta Drive). East of town, the highways follow Bitter Creek along the southern flank of White Mountain. US 191 joins I-80 and US 30 at Purple Sage; the three highways continue into the city of Rock Springs. I-80 Bus. and US 30 Bus. split east onto Dewar Drive. The mainline Interstate has partial cloverleaf interchanges with College Drive, which serves Western Wyoming Community College, and Elk Street, which US 191 joins to head north. The business routes, here named Pilot Butte Avenue, rejoin I-80 and US 30 on the east side of the city.
Rock Springs to Laramie
I-80 and US 30 continue east from Rock Springs parallel to the Union Pacific's Rawlins Subdivision and Bitter Creek. The Interstate has interchanges with WYO 370, which leads south to Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport; and WYO 371, which heads north toward Superior; and WYO 372 at Point of Rocks. At Point of Rocks, I-80 and US 30 veer away from the railroad and Bitter Creek and cross the Red Desert. Within the desert, the Interstate has interchanges with a string of minor roads: Black Butte Road, Red Hill Road, Bitter Creek Road, Patrick Draw Road, Table Rock Road, Bar X Road, BLM Road, GL Road, Tipton Road, an exit simply labelled Red Desert, and Rasmussen Road. The only place of significance within this stretch is Table Rock, where the highway rejoins the railroad and enters the Great Divide Basin, an endorheic basin between two branches of the Continental Divide. I-80 and US 30 pass by the only town in the basin, Wamsutter, which is accessed by an interchange with Kelly Street. The freeway has a junction with Continental Divide Road and an interchange with WYO 789, which joins the Interstate eastbound.
I-80, US 30, and WYO 789 intersect Riner Road before entering Carbon County. The freeway continues through minor interchanges with Daley Road, Knobs Road, Hadsell Road, and Johnson Road; the freeway leaves the Great Divide Basin and enters the Mississippi River watershed west of Hadsell Road. WYO 789, I-80 Bus., and US 30 Bus. split from I-80 and US 30 at the west end of the city of Rawlins, the county seat of Carbon County. The Interstate crosses over the Rawlins Subdivision rail line and has an interchange with WYO 71 (Higley Boulevard). I-80 and US 30 cross back to the north side of the railroad and have a trumpet interchange with the two business routes and US 287, which joins the freeway heading east from Rawlins; WYO 76 splits east from the eastbound loop of the interchange. The Interstate has a trumpet interchange with Lincoln Avenue at the west end of Sinclair, then crosses over the railroad and WYO 76. I-80 and the two U.S. Highways meet the eastern end of WYO 76 east of Sinclair. The three highways cross the North Platte River just east of the Fort Steele interchange.
US 30 and US 287 diverge from I-80 southwest of Hanna; WYO 130 heads south from the same interchange. I-80 continue east along the northern edge of the Medicine Bow Mountains and has junctions with Peterson Road and WYO 72, then crosses the Medicine Bow River. The Interstate continues through interchanges with Elk Mountain Medicine Bow Road, Wagonhound Road, and WYO 13 at Arlington, where the freeway crosses Rock Creek. I-80 intersects Cooper Cove Road before entering Albany County. The Interstate has interchanges with Quealy Dome Road and WYO 12 (Herrick Lane) around its crossing of the Little Laramie River. I-80 passes along the southern edge of Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge before entering Laramie, the county seat of Albany County. The freeway enters the city from the north, and I-80 Bus. splits east along Curtis Street. I-80 has interchanges with WYO 130 and WYO 230 (Snowy Range Road) and with US 287 (Third Street) and crossings of the Laramie River and the Union Pacific Railroad's Laramie Subdivision as it curves east. The Interstate receives its business route and US 30 at a trumpet interchange on the eastern edge of the city.
Laramie to Pine Bluffs
East of Laramie, I-80 and US 30 head southeast and cross the Laramie Mountains. The two highways reach their national high point at Sherman Summit, where they have an interchange with WYO 210 (Happy Jack Road). I-80 and US 30 have interchanges with Vedauwoo Road and Buford Road, the latter at the settlement of Buford just before the freeway enters Laramie County. The Interstate and U.S. highways rejoin the railroad and pass through minor junctions with Remount Road, Harriman Road, and Warren Road. I-80 and US 30 meet the western end of WYO 225 (Otto Road), which they parallel east to Cheyenne. The two highways have an interchange with WYO 222 (Roundtop Road) just west of a three-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with the eastern end of WYO 225 (Otto Road) and the western end of I-80 Bus. (Lincolnway), onto which US 30 exits. The missing movement from the surface highway to eastbound I-80 is made via the business route's nearby interchange with I-25 and US 87.
I-80 continues east across the Union Pacific Railroad to a full cloverleaf interchange with I-25 and US 87, where the highway enters the city of Cheyenne, the county seat and state capital. The Interstate crosses over a BNSF Railway line and has a diamond interchange with US 85 and the southern end of I-180, a non-freeway spur into downtown Cheyenne. East of I-180, I-80 receives the eastern end of its business route at its junction with WYO 212 (College Drive). East of its interchange with Campstool Road, the freeway leaves the city of Cheyenne and collects the eastern end of US 30 (Archer Boulevard). I-80 and US 30 have interchanges serving Hillsdale and Egbert around a junction with WYO 213 and WYO 214, which serve Burns and Carpenter, respectively. I-80 and US 30 reapproach the Union Pacific Railroad's Sidney Subdivision east of Burns and parallel it to Pine Bluffs, the easternmost town in Wyoming. There, US 30 splits north and immediately meets the southern terminus of WYO 215. At the eastern town limit of Pine Bluffs, I-80 enters Kimball County, Nebraska.
Maps Interstate 80 in Wyoming
Exit list
Business routes
I-80 has seven Interstate business loops in Wyoming:
- Interstate 80 Business (Evanston, Wyoming) runs 3.150 miles (5.069 km) through Evanston in western Uinta County. The business route is coexistent with US 189 Bus. for its entire length. I-80 Bus. begins at I-80 Exit 3; the ramp from westbound I-80 to the business route lies east of the other three ramps of the diamond interchange. The business routes heads east along Harrison Drive, which veers northeast onto 11th Street at the western edge of the city street grid. In the downtown area, I-80 Bus. turns southeast onto Front Street. At the intersection of Front Street and Sixth Street, which is the northern terminus of WYO 150 and the southern terminus of WYO 89, the business route turns north and crosses the Union Pacific Railroad's Evanston Subdivision rail line. I-80 Bus. crosses the Bear River, then turns east onto Bear River Drive while WYO 89 continues north. The business route follows Bear River Drive east until it rejoins I-80 at Exit 6.
- Interstate 80 Business (Fort Bridger-Lyman, Wyoming) has a length of 15.630 miles (25.154 km) through Fort Bridger and Lyman in eastern Uinta County. The business route begins at I-80 Exit 34. The highway heads east across Blacks Fork of the Green River and passes through the unincorporated town of Fort Bridger, which contains the namesake historic fort. I-80 Bus. intersects WYO 414 in the hamlet of Urie then curves north onto the town of Lyman. The business route follows Main Street, then intersects the southern end of WYO 413 within a sharp curve east onto Clark Street. I-80 Bus. leaves the town and curves northeast, then crosses Smiths Fork, a tributary of Blacks Fork, before rejoining I-80 at Exit 48.
- Interstate 80 Business (Green River, Wyoming) spans 2.510 miles (4.039 km) through Green River in western Sweetwater County. The business route is coexistent with US 30 Bus. for its entire length. I-80 Bus. begins at Exit 89, a trumpet interchange that connects with the eastern terminus of WYO 374. The highway heads southeast parallel to the Green River along Flaming Gorge Way through the center of Green River. Near the east end of the city, I-80 Bus. parallels a Union Pacific Railroad rail yard that serves as the western end of the railroad's Rawlins Subdivision and the eastern end of the Evanston Subdivision. Next to the railyard, the business route has an intersection with WYO 530 (Uinta Drive), which heads north, then curves back south and bridges the business route and the rail yard on its way to the portion of the city south of the Green River. Immediately east of WYO 530, I-80 Bus. rejoins the mainline Interstate at Exit 91, another trumpet interchange.
- Interstate 80 Business (Rock Springs, Wyoming) runs 4.120 miles (6.630 km) through Rock Springs in central Sweetwater County. The business route is coexistent with US 30 Bus. for its entire length. I-80 Bus. begins at Exit 102 and heads east along Dewar Drive. The highway curves northeast and passes to the north of downtown Rock Springs. Downtown is served by WYO 430, which I-80 Bus. intersects just east of a rail line that branches north from the Union Pacific Railroad's Rawlins Subdivision. The business route follows Center Street west of WYO 430 and Bridger Avenue to the east, then follows Pilot Butte Avenue through the eastern part of the city to its eastern junction with I-80 at Exit 107.
- Interstate 80 Business (Rawlins, Wyoming) has a length of 3.770 miles (6.067 km) through Rawlins in western Carbon County. The business route is coexistent with US 30 Bus. for its entire length. I-80 Bus. begins at I-80 Exit 211 on the western edge of the city and heads east concurrently with WYO 789 along Spruce Street. In downtown Rawlins, at the intersection of Spruce Street and Third Street, the business route turns south onto Third Street, WY 789 turns north onto Third Street, and the business route begins to run concurrently with US 287. Three blocks to the south, I-80 Bus. and US 287 turn east onto Cedar Street and parallel the Union Pacific Railroad along its Rawlins rail yard, which serves as the boundary between the Rawlins Subdivision to the west and the Laramie Subdivision to the east. The highway meets the southern end of US 287 Bypass (Higley Boulevard) shortly before reaching its eastern end at I-80 Exit 215. Within the trumpet interchange on the south side of I-80, the interchange ramps meet the western end of WYO 76, which heads east toward Sinclair.
- Interstate 80 Business (Laramie, Wyoming) spans 6.357 miles (10.231 km) through Laramie in southern Albany County. I-80 Bus. begins at I-80 Exit 310 and heads east along Curtis Street, which crosses over the Laramie River and the Union Pacific Railroad's Laramie Subdivision. The business route turns south onto Third Street, along which the highway runs concurrently with US 30 and US 287. In downtown Laramie, I-80 Bus. and US 30 turn east onto Grand Avenue, which runs along the southern edge of the University of Wyoming campus. The highway curves southeast and leaves the city of Laramie just north of its end at the trumpet interchange of I-80 Exit 316.
- Interstate 80 Business (Cheyenne, Wyoming) runs 6.935 miles (11.161 km) through Cheyenne in central Laramie County. I-80 Bus. begins at I-80 Exit 358, a three-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange next to the Union Pacific Railroad's Laramie Subdivision rail line at the western city limits of Cheyenne. WYO 225 (Otto Road) heads southwest from the interchange and I-80 Bus. and US 30 head east along Lincolnway. The interchange has no ramp to eastbound I-80; that movement is made via the business route's four-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange with I-25 and US 87 a short distance to the east. I-80 Bus. and US 30 intersect Missile Drive, cross Crow Creek, and have an at-grade crossing of a BNSF Railway line before entering downtown Cheyenne. In the center of downtown, north of the Cheyenne rail yard and the Cheyenne Depot Museum, the highways intersect US 85, I-25 Bus., and the northern end of I-180. Those north-south highways use Central Avenue southbound and Warren Avenue northbound. I-80 Bus. and US 30 leave downtown Cheyenne and the vicinity of the railroad as they pass Holiday Park. On the east side of Cheyenne at Lincolnway's intersection with WYO 212 (College Drive), US 30 continues east and I-80 Bus. turns south onto WYO 212. The business route and state highway cross over Union Pacific's Sidney Subdivision on the way to the eastern terminus of I-80 Bus. at I-80 Exit 364.
References
External links
Media related to Interstate 80 in Wyoming at Wikimedia Commons
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments