The 3rd Street Utility Rehabilitation is the highest-level impact project currently ongoing in Laramie. As a major corridor in and out of Laramie, this project greatly affects residents, businesses, and visitor traffic. Currently, project work has moved south of the 3^rd Street and Grand Avenue intersection. The City of Laramie has been diligently working with the contractor and downtown businesses to provide up-to-date information and notices for residents. 

There is only one four-block chunk remaining to complete close to downtown, from Grand to Sheridan. However, there is another section near Fetterman Street that will also get replaced due to a history of water line breaks. The City of Laramie anticipates everything north of Sheridan Street intersection will be completed and paved by November 1^st, just in time for the University of Wyoming football game against Colorado State. 

The City is doing everything within its means to get this project completed this year, though quite a few challenges have occurred thus far during this project. This is a very important project that is key to Laramie’s infrastructure and should meet our City’s needs for the next 50+ years. 

This project is critical to future projects including WYDOT’s upcoming project to re-pave 3^rd Street in 2025. By completing the 3^rd Street water line project now, the City can minimize water breaks and potential issues that would arise in the future.

The 3^rd Street Rehabilitation Project consists of replacing the existing 6” waterline with variable pipe sizes, from 8” to 16”. This comes with several potential challenges, as does any infrastructure project that requires digging up a major street. The contractor on this project has encountered 100-year-old pipes, several gas lines, varying soil types, storm lines, and other complicating factors that are not and cannot be seen on the surface. 

This project has also required the replacement of manholes, hydrants, and other external factors that have caused delays, including the wet and rainy weather Laramie has experienced this summer which caused areas to be filled with water, sidewalls to sluff off, and created other safety concerns. 

The City of Laramie assures residents and businesses that they are doing everything in their part with the contractor to work as quickly and efficiently as possible for both residents and businesses. The City has been working closely with Downtown Laramie, providing signage, direct communication on intersection closures, and anticipated water outages. 

As Downtown Laramie is currently the most affected during the project, the City is working closely with business owners and the Laramie Main Street Alliance. The City is doing everything it can to keep people updated, businesses open, and traffic moving. Currently, they have integrated pedestrian walkways and temporary crosswalks available for pedestrians to access downtown. It’s critical to keep sidewalks open as much as possible, especially for businesses that only have front door access from 3^rd Street.

For residents, it’s critical citizens of Laramie continue to support our downtown businesses right now, even in the midst of this project. Furthermore, the construction is not affecting the safety of downtown walkways. Crosswalks have been designated and cleared so that people can move freely in and out of the downtown area. The contractor and City Staff are communicating with business owners directly, providing updates, possible water outages, and anticipated intersection closures so everyone knows what to expect. 

Residents can navigate to the Construction Status Map to view which sections of 3^rd Street are currently closed and planned to be closed through the remainder of the project. Laramie residents are also encouraged to sign up for the Laramie News Flash and follow the City of Laramie Facebook page for major updates regarding road construction and closures. For more questions, residents can call the City of Laramie Engineering Department at (307) 721-5250 or visit the website at https://cityoflaramie.org/214/Engineering. 

For questions or to request an interview, please contact Zeb Coulter at engineering@cityoflaramie.org or (307) 721-5250.