CHEYENNE - Among the biggest losers in the state's roaring energy economy are county roads and the crews that struggle to hold them together.

Crews in Sweetwater County, where an onslaught of heavy industry trucks pound the roads, are sacrificing vital long-term maintenance to keep roads open today.

"Basically, we don't have the funding to take care of our annual maintenance needs, and the roads deteriorate at a much faster rate," Sweetwater County Engineer John Radosevich said.

Johnson County, a magnet for coal-bed methane developers and retirees seeking the country life, may turn some paved roads back to gravel, according to Craig Cronk, the county road and bridge supervisor.

Roads that were built to support ranch operations in the 1920s are now supporting 1,500 heavy trucks a day. Traffic is so bad in one area that two county vehicles have been hit by coal-bed methane trucks speeding to job sites. School buses travel the same stretch.

"We try to rotate ourselves out there because it's so stressful," said Cronk, who needs an additional $3 million a year to service gravel roads.

Counties rich in energy wealth will eventually enjoy increased tax revenue for road repair. But that money sometimes appears years after it is needed.

"Everybody seems to think that with the oil and gas there's a lot of money coming in," Radosevich said. "There's a lot of money going out just to service this."

Laramie County put a moratorium on new county roads last January. About 300 miles of paved roads there need maintenance work, at a cost of about $1 million a mile, said County Commissioner Diane Humphrey.

"If we're going to have infrastructure here after the boom and jobs, they're going to have to open their pockets and support these roads," she said, referring to state government.

Counties rely on state fuel taxes and mineral taxes to pay for thousands of miles of paved and gravel roads across the state.

Some counties, including Laramie County, also receive funding from an additional 1 percent sales tax. The county still runs a $2.5 million deficit each year, said Commissioner Jack Knudson, adding that county roads are essential to Wyoming's economic and social fabric.

"County roads tie in with the whole state system," he said.

Wyoming communities touched by the boom have identified about 670 capital projects, including roads, that will require an additional $1 billion, said George Parks, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities.

The State Loan and Investment Board disbursed $105 million earlier this year for counties affected by energy development.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal's supplemental budget includes another $85 million for communities affected by energy development and $65 million for communities outside the boom. At least one top lawmaker has already expressed reservations about the additional funding.

In the meantime, counties will continue to battle what Radosevich calls a "troubling situation" with the dollars they have.

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Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at jared.miller@casperstartribune.net.