TOM MORTON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 12:00 am
The passing of winter yields to Wyoming's other season: road construction.
The Natrona County Road and Bridge Department is preparing for spring and summer road work with a couple major projects, department supervisor Mike Haigler said Monday.
He'll outline some of those at a work session of the Natrona County Commission at 4 p.m. today at the courthouse at 200 N. Center St.
The county recently hired a contractor to quarry and crush about 81,000 tons of gravel on Casper Mountain, which will be used on the roads, Haigler said.
The quarry on the mountain will save the costs and headaches of hauling gravel by truck up Casper Mountain Road, he said.
The department also is planning to install culverts and other drainage improvements on 6 Mile Road, which will lead to the proposed 8,000-foot rail spur east of the Natrona County International Airport, Haigler said.
These improvements were on tap for this year, but the permitting and financing of the rail spur set a deadline for his department, he said.
The commissioners also will hear from Treasurer Tom Doyle, who will discuss the county's finances from February, said Michelle Wallace-Frank of the commission's office.
At 3 p.m. Thursday, the five commissioners will hear from representatives of the nonprofit Wyoming Medical Center Inc., and the five-member board of trustees of the Memorial Hospital Board of Natrona County.
The trustees oversee the lease of Natrona County's hospital assets worth about $200 million by the Wyoming Medical Center. The lease allows WMC to operate a hospital with the rent, in effect, being the care of the indigent and prisoners at the county jail, and to maintain the asset for the benefit of the citizens of the county.
Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.