Park County has been laying the groundwork for a major road project on the Willwood that aims to improve the area’s main roads, while also having an impact on the area residents.

At its Sept. 5 meeting, commissioners (with Dossie Overfield abstaining) voted to accept Engineering Associates to perform professional engineering and land surveying for planned major improvements to the Willwood Road (County Lanes 13, 14, 15, Road 13 and Road 18) between Cody and Powell.

The county is hosting a public information meeting for the project on Monday Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at Heart Mountain Hall (Park County Fairgrounds) in Powell. Park County Engineer Brian Edwards said it would serve as a kickoff meeting to discuss the overall scope, goals and objectives. The county sent mailers to all the landowners who live along the route.

According to county documents, these roads have long served as a “farm to market” route and have seen increased use since the relocated Willwood Dam bridge was completed in 2016. The Willwood Road connects U.S. Highway 14A with Wyo. Highway 295 south of Powell and involves roughly 10 miles of two-lane paved roadway. The county intends to improve this stretch of roadway to a secondary road classification which is used for a larger amount of traffic than it had been planned for previously.

The county public works department is considering constructing the project in two phases. The first phase will likely start at U.S. Highway 14A extending east to Road 13. The second phase will likely include Road 13 and will extend east to Wyo. Highway 295.

The county’s schedule includes site surveying, site investigations and design to be completed by March 1, 2024. The project is expected to be advertised in April and May 2024. The goal is to have a contractor selected and ready to start by June 1, 2024.

Ideally construction will be completed by Dec. 31, 2024, according to the public works. If the county elects to complete the project in two phases, the construction could extend into 2025.