Wyoming: I-25 I-80 Interchange Redesign

Wild Interchange Gets Safety-Focused Redesign 

Challenge: The interchange at I-25/I-80 in Cheyenne, Wyo. was built in the 1960s. Back then not many people crossed through this part of the wild west. Today, this juncture is a different kind of wild – clogged with local, state, and national freight traffic. Trucks leaving the highway must slow from 70 to 20 miles per hour along tight turns. Crash rates have reached unacceptable levels – 160 collisions since 2018. Experts say the culprit is its outdated cloverleaf design, tight curves, and insufficient acceleration and deceleration lanes. In its 60-year lifespan, no major improvements have been made.  

Solution: With help from the federal infrastructure investment law, the state of Wyoming is finally able to redesign this outdated juncture to accommodate the demands of today’s modern traffic and commerce. Engineers are figuring out how to replace the obsolete cloverleaf design with smoother turns and additional acceleration and deceleration lanes. For people who drive in and through Cheyenne – a safer and more reliable trip is just ahead.  

What they’re saying: “If you’ve ever driven to Cheyenne you may be haunted about the I-80 to I-25 interchange. It’s a fast, tight, loop-de-loop with little room for error as on-ramp and off-ramp traffic jockeys with one another in a short distance at fast speeds after hundreds of miles of safe distance. Who designed that mousetrap? It will all change soon. WYDOT receives federal funding to redesign the Cheyenne I-80 interchange.” (KTGA 99 Big Foot Radio, 07/13/2023)