Laramie begins 2026 street rehabilitation; Knife River awarded $8.02M contract

Laramie has contracted Knife River Corporation for $8,023,669 to rehabilitate roughly nine lane-miles of city streets, a program that the city says will include curb and gutter repairs, sidewalks and improvements to approximately 123 ADA ramps. The City Council authorized the award Feb. 3 and approved a $1,500,000 contingency for the 2026 Street Rehabilitation Project.

Council action came after bids were opened Jan. 13, 2026 and the project was established by City resolution 2025-92 on Nov. 18, 2025. Vice Mayor Richardson made the motion to award the contract, and the council vote passed 8–0 with one member absent. The mayor and city clerk were authorized to sign the contract after the vote.

Director Webb of Public Works and Engineering presented the project scope and schedule to council, saying, "The goal of this project is to improve pavement conditions on some of our busiest streets across town." Webb told council the city's engineering department completed the in-house design and that some construction management and construction administration work will be contracted out because the project scope exceeds in-house capacity.

Work items spelled out by the city include milling and overlay, associated curb and gutter repairs, spot base repair, spot repairs, subgrade repair, patching, utility adjustments as needed, and paving. Concrete tasks are described as curb and gutter, sidewalk and ADA, and base repairs as applicable, while asphalt tasks include utility adjustments, milling, patching/subgrade repair and paving. The press release instructs that "Each roadway being rehabbed will be closed for not more than four weeks while crews work. Traffic will be redirected as needed for the safety of crews, pedestrians, and drivers alike."

Start timing in source materials varies: an original city announcement described the program as "beginning in March 2026," while the city press release characterizes the work as beginning "this summer." The city cautioned that "The following is the initial project schedule. Dates are approximate and may change due to weather, field conditions, and construction progress." City materials set a substantial completion deadline of Oct. 31, 2026 and a final completion date of Dec. 11, 2026.

Residents seeking specifics on which streets will close and when are directed to the City of Laramie Road Closures page and to sign up for the City Newsflash for monthly and major project updates; the press materials also include the internal update token "#_msocom_1" tied to those notices. For project questions or to request the detailed schedule and street list, the city provided Ridge Leinen, MBA, P.E., Engineer, at 307-721-5250 or engineering@cityoflaramie.org.

Councilors thanked the engineering staff for preparing the project materials during the Feb. 3 meeting. City leaders say staff and the awarded contractor will develop final phasing and a street-by-street schedule after the contract is signed, with public information to follow once that schedule is finalized.