Shoshoni is open for business despite what your phone might have told you, Mayor Joel Highsmith told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
Google Maps and Apple Maps apparently mistook a detour for a closed road and redirected traffic onto remote Wyoming backroads to either Moneta or Castle Garden, depending on whether the destination was Thermopolis or Riverton.
Both routes are unsuitable for large trailers and campers, Highsmith said.
“If we get rain, those back road can be impassable because of mud,” he said. “It’s scenic but what if you have an accident or any kind of health issue in that remote area?
“That could be putting people at risk.”
Shoshoni Police Chief Chris Konija said he was aware travelers are being directed away from Shoshoni.
He blamed AI. The artificial intelligence does not realize that there is an alternative route.
“People have reported that they started going down these dirt roads before they had second thoughts, and luckily turned around,” Konija said. “Some people went back to Casper before realizing that we have a detour road so they delayed their trip unnecessarily.”
Cell service can also be spotty in these areas so Konija encouraged travelers to question maps diverting them down two-tracks.
WYDOT said the detour on U.S. Highway 20/26 traffic on Shoshoni’s east end was so a contractor can replace the Bighorn Divide and Wyoming Railroad crossing.
The work is expected to be finished later this week. But in the meantime, traffic is being diverted, not stopped, when they come to Shoshoni.
“There’s no stop. It's not a one-way. You're not waiting for a pilot car,” Konija said. “You’re just diverting through a dirt road around the railroad track and then you get right back on the highway.”
The temporary detour road was built just for this project. Konija said it is a flat road and not even that dusty.
AI’s Fault
Konija said there is nothing he can do to change the rerouting mistake in the navigational apps and correct it with the official detour route. He said his department doesn’t don’t have a direct line to Google to correct the mistake.
“I wish I could, and would if I could, but I don't have Google on speed dial,” Konija said. “What we are doing is asking people to always check official sources.”
Konija said to check wyoroad.info for true road conditions. He stressed that neither Google nor Apple are official sources, and a lot of their information is AI generated.
WYDOT, on the other hand, updates almost in real time.
“When something is collected off the internet, then they make the maps and make automatic adjustments on the fly based on those algorithms and inputs,” Konija said. “You don't really have a human that's doing this.”
Konija said another sign drivers are being misled by a navigational device is a lack of signage. Only the map telling drivers to turn.
“You got to use a little bit of common sense when you're sing those apps and to know if there is a road closure through a community,” he said. "WYDOT will have it posted that the road is closed."
Highsmith said his concern is the town itself might be impacted as well by Google and Apple misdirecting traffic.
“It has them going out of their way to miss Shoshoni and definitely affects Fast Lane (convenience store),” Highsmith said. “It could also affect Crossroads RV Park and our motel.”
“We're still the best route despite what Google and Apple are telling you.”
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
