The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is sounding the alarm as its ballooning projected budget deficit appears no closer to receiving a solution from the legislature.
WYDOT previously estimated its deficit at about $411 million, which it said had forced the department into a “preservation mode,” hampering its ability to meet the needs of Wyoming’s drivers.
Director Darin Westby told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday this figure had since increased.
“We're probably sitting at 600 million at this point after five years, six years later,” he said in a Thursday phone call. “What we've been doing with the legislature is just really trying to make sure that they are aware of the unfunded needs.”
Westby said his department is responsible for maintaining over 7,000 miles of road throughout the state and 2,000 bridges, which may go neglected without proper funding. WYDOT spokesperson Doug McGee said I-80 and other major roads throughout the state that see heavy traffic from industrial vehicles are in need of additional passing lanes and other improvements to ease congestion, which WYDOT would work on if it had proper funding.
Westby said WYDOT has engaging with lawmakers to find a solution ahead of the coming budget session, but those conversations have been fruitless so far.
The Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee last month shot down a proposal to introduce a 10-cent fuel tax increase, which would have bolstered the department’s floundering budget.
“The fuel tax would have in our in our eyes is the easy button,” Westby said. “We do understand that it's an impact to the consumer, but their users that are using the fuel are going to be using roads so we saw that as a win-win, but unfortunately, it didn't get out of committee this year.”
‘A Huge Gamble’
Westby said his department will soon need to make crucial decisions about which services to provide and which to allow to lapse due to budget cuts. One such area could be regular maintenance of some lesser-used back roads that may need repairs.
“They're important roads, but maybe not as significant as others, and we're going to have to prioritize those roads into the future a little bit, as opposed to taking care of them now and that comes at a gamble,” he said. “If we push a project too far down the road, it could blow up on us, meaning we have to go in and do a total reconstruct. A simple preservation on a on a four lane is $800,000 whereas reconstructing a four lane is $2.6 million.”
Neglecting short term repairs now could lead to larger and much more costly reconstruction projects in the future, making these choices highly consequential for Wyoming’s roads, Westby said.
“We’ve got to do the prioritization in a way that is calculated to the point where we don't hurt ourselves into the future, “he added. “But it's a huge gamble by making those calls.”
The deficit has forced WYDOT into a difficult predicament where it is now forced to pull money away from much-needed developments to stay afloat, the director said.
Westby said his leadership role in these decisions has taken a toll on his conscience.
“Without having increased funding, I couldn't in good conscience pull money off of preserving roads,” he said. “I can't take money off of that to go do something new, knowing that it's going to cost me four times as much down the road when it blows up. It's a dichotomy.”
Some conflicts, however, could be unavoidable, such as some construction projects which had already been greenlit.
“We’ve got a big project just here in Cheyenne that's on the near horizon that could be $500, $600 million,” Westby added. “Something like that could decimate our Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan if it comes to fruition, and we don't see any extra dollars.”
Not So Easy
Sen. Stephan Pappas, R- Cheyenne, chairs the Senate side of the Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee. He told Cowboy State Daily finding a legislative solution to WYDOT’s problem has proven more difficult than expected given the massive amount of money needed.
“I've been looking at trying to figure out how we're going to get funding for our roads for a long time, because it's going to be a heavy lift,” Pappas said. “And the things that we have passed in the past are like almost nickel and dime compared to the amount of money that we do need.”
While the committee was able to divert about $70 million in vehicle sales tax to WYDOT during the 2025 session, Pappas said the solution was only a temporary bandage to the problem. Raising fuel tax, as his committee had considered, would have generated another roughly $47 million, which also would not have stretched far enough.
Pappas acknowledged Cowboy State Daily’s Wednesday reporting in which Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, blamed some “far right” legislators for focusing on “social media issues” like election integrity rather than other more pressing problems like WYDOT’s budget. He agreed WYDOT may not be receiving the necessary attention from the legislature because it is not very exciting to constituents.
“Maintenance of roads is not a very sexy thing, right?” Pappas said. “But it's a very necessary thing. You have to understand that our high highways and road systems are the life blood of our economy.”
“Without good roads and highways, we can't get tourists to the places they need to be to spend money,” he added. “Number two is oil and gas and all the extractive industries. They need roads to get the product in and out of the state. And number three is agriculture. They certainly need roads to move agricultural products and certainly ranching animals to and from market. Roads are needed by everybody in Wyoming.”
Without a solution from his committee, Pappas said the legislature will be forced to dig into the general fund. He explained Appropriations Committee chair Rep. John Bear, R- Gillette, has voice support for such a solution, but is unsure if it will earn his attention during a budget session which will see many state entities jockeying for more funding.
“He understands that, but I don't know,” Pappas said. “I’m not on Appropriations. I don't know what they're thinking is.”
Bear countered, telling Cowboy State Daily the report of a "'budget shortfall' has been around for several years, a period in which "the insiders controlled the legislature.”
The representative did not clarify who he was referring to by “the insiders."
He also directed Cowboy State Daily to the vote tally on the 2025 bill that transferred vehicle sales tax revenues into WYDOT's coffers.
The House's third reading vote on that bill, House Bill 33, was a mixed bag. Some, but not all, House Democrats voted against it. At least one Freedom Caucus member voted against it. And a handful of other Republicans voted against it. The aye votes, which numbered 48 compared to the 13 nays, also showed a mixed bag among political factions.
Bear voted in favor of the transfer. His House Appropriations Committee approved it unanimously.
On the Senate side, Pappas also voted in favor the transfer.
While solutions like increased taxes and tolling may prove unpopular, Pappas suggested Wyomingites may warm up to the idea if the state’s highway infrastructure begins to deteriorate.
“I really think that once, once people see what the roads are going to look like-- because we can't maintain them-- maybe they'll change their tune,” he said.
Jackson Walker can be reached at walker@cowboystatedaily.com.
