WYDOT suspends the Class W weight limit permit for WYO 116

Rut on WYO 116 between Upton and Wright. (Wyoming Department of Transportation)

GILLETTE, Wyo. – An increase in heavy traffic on Wyoming Highway 116 has caused rapid deterioration and prompted the Wyoming Department of Transportation to lift the road weight limit.

In a news release Tuesday, WYDOT said a recent highway survey found accelerated and rapid road damage south of Upton from mile marker 2.5 to 5.5. The study measured rut depth, identified surface cores, and determined base, type, and depth. In isolated areas there was excessive rutting, horizontal cracks and increasing road damage. Subsurfaces are also failing “due in part to increases in traffic volumes and the number of trucks with weights allowed in the Class W permit,” WYDOT said.

The Class W permit allows vehicles weighing more than 117,000 pounds and is required for WYO 116, which experiences heavier loads and increased truck traffic from transporting frac sand from near Aladdin north of Wright. The Class W permit for WYO 116 will be suspended on Wednesday, May 15.

WYDOT’s materials laboratory also recommended reducing posted speeds in severely damaged areas, repairing those locations, reassessing restrictions and evaluating a “seasonal load limitation” program to prevent damage during the spring thaw, when the The surface is weakest.

The weight limit will remain in place until measures are taken to increase the highway’s carrying capacity.

“WYDOT believes that if we do not implement these restrictions, the road will deteriorate more quickly and funding will not be able to keep up, making the route unsafe and potentially impassable to motorists. This action will allow the highway to remain open to travelers and transportation operators with the new maximum weight limits,” WYDOT said in the release.

WYO 116 has been added to WYDOT’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan, which identifies proposed construction and pre-design projects for planned highway, bridge and airport improvements planned over a six-year period.

There are two WYO 116 projects on the agenda. The first will be a mill and overlay from mile marker 16.60 to 22.50 north of Upton in 2026 and a mill and overlay with isolated reconstruction south of Upton from mile marker 0 to 13.45 in 2027.