WYDOT schedules public meeting on Grand Avenue road project in Laramie

Grand Avenue businesses on Laramie’s east side are about to get a first formal look at how much disruption is coming as WYDOT and Knife River prepare to mill and overlay the corridor from 30th Street east to the I-80/Grand Avenue interchange. The agencies have set a public meeting for Thursday, May 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Laramie Rec Center conference room at 920 Boulder Dr., with a short presentation scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m.

The timing matters for storefronts, commuters and interstate traffic that rely on Grand Avenue every day. WYDOT says the meeting is meant to lay out the project scope and schedule for local businesses and residents and to reduce major impacts to businesses before work ramps up. Engineers, Knife River staff and other subject-matter experts will be on hand to answer questions and hear concerns about how the project will affect travel through the corridor.

The work stretches beyond fresh asphalt. WYDOT said the project also includes concrete repairs at 17th and 19th Streets, where deteriorating joints need attention, along with curb-and-gutter repairs on the east side of Grand Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets, where erosion has occurred. Concrete work is expected to begin after Memorial Day, while the main milling and overlay work is slated to start around mid-June.

For businesses along the route, that means the most important information is not just what will be fixed, but when crews will shift from one block to the next and how long each phase will last. A corridor that carries shoppers, commuters and interstate-bound drivers can see fast ripple effects when one lane, driveway or corner closes, especially in a stretch with mixed commercial access and frequent turn movements.

WYDOT has tried this format before in Laramie. During the US287/Third Street project, the agency held a similar public meeting and said it wanted to make sure the correct information was getting out to businesses and residents. That project closed the US287/Third Street and Grand Avenue intersection on May 1, 2025, for surfacing removal, then reopened it on July 2, 2025 after ADA corner upgrades, curb-and-gutter work, storm sewer work, new concrete surfacing and a new signal.

District Construction Engineer Ryan Shields said reopening the intersection before Laramie Jubilee Days was a big priority, and he credited Knife River, subcontractors and WYDOT engineers Kory Cramer and Sam Finkle for their coordination. Another WYDOT notice also said Grand Avenue work in central Laramie would begin May 28 and run from 3rd Street to 15th Street, while the City of Laramie has announced a separate summer rehab project with Knife River covering 9 lane-miles of mill-and-overlay work, curb and gutter, ADA ramps and spot base repair. Taken together, those projects point to a busy construction season across Laramie’s streets, with Grand Avenue carrying much of the pressure.