Interstate Highway Construction
After years of planning and no small amount of political maneuvering, construction of the Interstate highway system began after Congress passed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. By 1960, interstate construction was going strong in Wyoming. Wyoming, 62 sections of new four-lane highway, encompassing nearly 600 miles (about two-thirds of the ultimate system) opened to traffic between 1960 and 1969. This busy decade of Interstate construction was topped off on Oct. 3, 1970 with the opening of the 77-mile Walcott Jct.-Laramie segment of Interstate 80. This was longest single section of new interstate opened at one time, not only in Wyoming, but also anywhere in the U.S. The last gap in Wyoming’s interstate system was closed in October 1985.
Currently, there are 33,000 miles (53,000 km) of public roadways in Wyoming. WYDOT manages 6,859 miles of road, of which only 405 miles are considered urban highways. There are 914 miles of Interstate in Wyoming.
Wyoming has 10 intercity bus organizations, serving 38 cities. There are 23 counties within Wyoming which have a total of 41 public transit systems. There are approximately 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of rail in Wyoming, 100 of which are state-owned. Wyoming has nine primary service airports.
Wyoming has one of the nation's lowest fuel tax rates at 14 cents per gallon, which generates approximately $6.65 million per year.
Read more about this topic: Wyoming Department Of Transportation
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—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
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