When Evansville car wash owner Dennis Ryan heard about plans to reconstruct northeast Wyoming Boulevard this summer, he decided to take action.

"I saw what happened on Second Street last year and so I felt it would affect our business," said Ryan, who runs the American Pride Car Wash. "A lot of people, when they hear about construction, they just stay entirely away."

He called 15 nearby businesses and asked them to join a coalition to put out information about the proposed construction work and the impact on businesses, he said.

Seven joined what Ryan calls "The Coalition of the Willing" - First Bank; Interstate Sales; Sonny's RV; Lathrop Equipment; Mini-Mart; Linton's Big R; and United Building Centers, Ryan said.

"We all agree that it is better to be proactive and get people thinking about customer loyalty," Ryan said.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation plans to begin the Wyoming Boulevard project in mid-June, but the coalition has already put out radio advertisements on six stations to let customers "know that the highway department is going to have the streets open," Ryan said.

The radio spots also remind customers that they will be able to access Evansville via Yellowstone Highway and Interstate 25.

"Use Yellowstone and the freeway … there are no stoplights on the freeway. You can get from downtown Casper to this Curtis Street interchange in less than four minutes," Ryan said.

Because most customers can access his and other Evansville businesses from Yellowstone and I-25, Ryan said he is mostly concerned about losing customers from the southeast part of Casper, who will have to drive through construction zones on Wyoming Boulevard to get to his car wash.

The first portion of Wyoming Boulevard slated for reconstruction this summer runs from Gannett Street to 12th Street, WYDOT spokesman Jim Nations said.

Work on this section will consist of asphalt resurfacing work as well as new curb, gutter and sidewalk installation, Nations said.

On Aug. 1 crews will begin reconstructing in concrete the patch of Wyoming Boulevard between Second Street and Gannett Street, he said.

From Sept. 1 through Oct. 31 the portion of Wyoming Boulevard between Second Street and Legion Lane will be reconstructed with new concrete. While this work is being done, the extremely busy section of the roadway will be reduced to two lanes and motorists will not be allowed to make left turns into businesses mid-block, Nations said.

While it is under construction, motorists will need to treat the section of Wyoming Boulevard between Second and Legion like it is a big-city roadway, by which the "right-in, right-out" procedure - making right turns into destinations and right turns out of them - is the rule of thumb, Nations said.

Originally WYDOT planned to reconstruct all of Wyoming Boulevard between Yellowstone and 12th this year, Nations said. But that plan has changed (see related story) and the section of roadway between Legion and Yellowstone will be reconstructed next year, he added.

In order to help the businesses along all the portions of Wyoming Boulevard under construction this year and next, the Casper Area Chamber of Commerce will be putting construction updates out in its newsletter and on its Web site (www.casperwyoming.org), Chamber Director Chris Holden said.

Holden has also met with various Wyoming Boulevard business owners, including Ryan, and helped them plan strategies to mitigate the effects of the construction, she said.

In addition to the continuation of the radio ads, Ryan said his coalition plans to start placing monthly flyers in local newspapers in May.

"It's an informational flyer telling that there are other roads to get here," he said.

Ryan admits that the construction will cause some people difficulty reaching his 12-bay car wash for the next two summers, he said.

But just because it may take slightly longer to get there, it does not mean people should avoid heading over to Evansville, Ryan said.

"When in doubt, take a roundabout," he quipped.