December 10, 2024 |
Photo – Courtesy of Carbon County
County Roads 401 and 500 are closed for the winter. GPS will reflect the closures, but county officials fear that motorists will still attempt to use the roads.
During the December 3rd Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz explained that Global Positioning Satellite maps will no longer direct motorists down County Road 401, which connects and Highway 70 south of Rawlins, or County Road 500, west of Saratoga. Both roads are closed as crews focus their efforts on keeping other roads open this winter. Despite the county’s best efforts, Fritz and the board agreed that people are likely to attempt to use the closed roads.
Commissioner John Espy said the Wyoming Department of Transportation has placed a sign outside of Savery warning travelers that the road ahead is closed. Commissioner Espy asked why the state agency can’t do the same thing on the county’s roads.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Kandis Fritz said she has looked into purchasing a sign trailer similar to ones used by WYDOT. However, Fritz said the trailers are quite expensive and that she would rather use the money on road maintenance.
The Board of Carbon County Commissioners voted to have Fritz send a letter to WYDOT officially requesting signage for the county roads. Fritz said she will draft the letter and have it ready for the board to sign at a later date.
As of now, neither County Road 401 or 500 will appear on motorists’ GPS devices for the remainder of the winter, or until county crews can remove the accumulated snow in spring.
