MEGAN LEE Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Saturday, February 28, 2009 12:00 am
Hey, Answer Girl -
We drove from Laramie to Casper recently - some of the trip on the "Freeway to Nowhere." It begins on Route 287 at Bosler - a tiny town. Then it turns into a divided highway, two lanes in each direction, for 20 miles to Rock River. Nothing in between these towns except prairie. What gives?
- Helen in Sheridan
Jeff Goetz, public information specialist with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said the highway between Bosler and Rock River - a dual designation highway called U.S. Highway 30/287 - used to be the primary east-west trade route through the southern portion of Wyoming. That, of course, was in the days before Interstate Highway 80.
It's part of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States, and was commissioned in 1925 to run from Salt Lake City, Utah to Atlantic City, N.J., according to Goetz.
U.S. Highway 287 is a north-south highway that runs from Port Arthur, Texas to Choteau, Mont. It starts in Wyoming just past Tie Siding and runs northwest through Yellowstone National Park.
It was commissioned in 1939 and was designed to connect Yellowstone with Denver. It was extended to Texas in 1940 and to Montana in 1965.
"As for the four lanes between Bosler and Rock River, that road was built prior to the I-80 construction," Goetz explained. "Obviously, I-80 has taken most of the traffic from U.S. 30/287 and today, anywhere from 400 to 1,000 vehicles travel between the two towns each day."
Construction on a portion of U.S. Highway 30/287 will begin this year near Medicine Bow, widening and overlaying 11 miles of roadway and creating passing lanes and shoulders. Also the bridge over the Medicine Bow River will be replaced, which is probably necessary since the bridge is 60 years old. The construction should be finished in 2010.
Hey, Answer Girl -
I would like to know the cost per student, using the annual school budget, in Natrona County and in the entire state of Wyoming.
- Jack
The average cost per student in Wyoming from 2005-2006 was $11,197 per student. In Natrona County in 2006-2007, cost per student was an average of $11,334. Thanks to education reporter Jasa Santos for providing these numbers.
Ask Answer Girl
Answer Girl tackles questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your questions by email to megan.lee@trib.com or call Megan Lee at 266-0616. You can also write to Answer Girl, Box 80, 170 Star Lane, Casper, WY, 82602.