Interstate 80 (I-80) is a part of the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...
that runs from
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, to
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...
. In
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
, the Interstate Highway runs from the
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
state line near
Evanston east to the
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
state line in
Pine Bluffs. I-80 connects
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...
, Wyoming's capital and largest city, with several smaller cities along the southern tier of Wyoming, including Evanston,
Green River,
Rock Springs,
Rawlins, and
Laramie. The highway also connects those cities with
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
to the west and
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
to the east. In Cheyenne, I-80 intersects
I-25
Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...
and has Wyoming's only
auxiliary Interstate,
I-180. The Interstate
runs concurrently with
US Highway 30 (US 30) for most of their courses in Wyoming. I-80 also has shorter concurrencies with
US 189 near Evanston,
US 191 near Rock Springs, and
US 287 and
Wyoming Highway 789 (WYO 789) near Rawlins. The Interstate has
business loops through all six cities along its course as well as a loop serving
Fort Bridger and
Lyman east of Evanston.
Route description
Evanston to Rock Springs
I-80 enters
Uinta County
Uinta County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 20,450. Its county seat is Evanston. Its south and west boundary lines abut the Utah state line. Uinta County, together with ...
concurrent with US 189 from
Summit County, Utah
Summit County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 42,357. Its county seat is Coalville, and the largest city is Park City.
History
The cou ...
, west of Evanston, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Uinta County. The Interstate parallels the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
's
Evanston Subdivision rail line to Yellow Creek, east of which the railroad parallels the creek northeast, and the highway heads east into the city of Evanston.
I-80 Business (I-80 Bus.) and
US 189 Bus. split northeast onto Harrison Drive. I-80 has an interchange with
WYO 150 (Front Street) just south of downtown Evanston and cross over the railroad line and the
Bear River shortly before the business routes (which use Bear River Drive) rejoin the Interstate on the eastern edge of the city. I-80 and US 189 continue east through interchanges with Painter Road and Divide Road before the US Highway splits northeast toward
Kemmerer.
I-80 continues east through interchanges with Coal and Bar Hat roads and crosses over the Union Pacific Railroad rail line just west of the Leroy Road interchange. The highway has more minor junctions with French, Bigelow, and Union roads before
I-80 Bus. splits southeast toward Fort Bridger. The stretch of I-80 between mile markers 6 - 28 is known as the Three Sisters, which some refer to as the "Highway to Heaven" because of an optical illusion that makes it seem that the road is reaching toward the sky. I-80 parallels
Blacks Fork of the
Green River through interchanges with
WYO 412 and
WYO 414 north of
Mountain View and
WYO 413 north of Lyman before crossing over the river. The Interstate crosses over Smiths Fork, a tributary of Blacks Fork, before I-80 Bus. rejoins the mainline. I-80 has a junction with Church Butte Road before entering
Sweetwater County
Sweetwater County is a County (United States), county in southwestern Wyoming, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 42,272, making it the List of counties in Wyoming, fourth-most populous county in Wyoming. Its ...
. The highway meets the western end of
WYO 374 south of
Granger and has a
trumpet interchange
In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...
with US 30, which joins the Interstate in the first of several concurrencies east to Nebraska. A second segment of WYO 374 begins at the first interchange east of US 30 that serves
Little America.
I-80 and US 30 parallel WYO 374 through a junction with Westvaco Road, across Blacks Fork again, and across the railroad before an interchange with WYO 374 and
WYO 372. The Interstate has an interchange with Covered Wagon Road just west of its crossing of the Green River at
James Town. I-80 and US 30 parallel the river and WYO 374 to the city of Green River, the county seat of Sweetwater County. The highway has trumpet interchanges with
I-80 Bus. and
US 30 Bus. on either side of the city; between the interchanges, the Interstate passes through the dual
Green River Tunnel. The business route connects I-80 with
WYO 530 (Uinta Drive). East of town, the highways follow
Bitter Creek along the southern flank of
White Mountain. US 191 joins I-80 and US 30 at
Purple Sage; the three highways continue into the city of Rock Springs.
I-80 Bus. and
US 30 Bus. split east onto Dewar Drive. The mainline Interstate has partial cloverleaf interchanges with College Drive, which serves
Western Wyoming Community College, and Elk Street, which US 191 joins to head north. The business routes, here named Pilot Butte Avenue, rejoin I-80 and US 30 on the east side of the city.
Rock Springs to Laramie
I-80 and
US 30 continue east from Rock Springs parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad's
Rawlins Subdivision and Bitter Creek. The Interstate has interchanges with
WYO 370, which leads south to
Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport;
WYO 371, which heads north toward
Superior; and
WYO 372 at
Point of Rocks. At Point of Rocks, I-80 and US 30 veer away from the railroad and Bitter Creek and cross the
Red Desert. Within the desert, the Interstate has interchanges with a string of minor roads: Black Butte Road, Red Hill Road, Bitter Creek Road, Patrick Draw Road, Table Rock Road, Bar X Road, BLM Road, GL Road, Tipton Road, an exit simply labelled Red Desert, and Rasmussen Road. The only place of significance within this stretch is
Table Rock, where the highway rejoins the railroad and enters the
Great Divide Basin, an
endorheic basin
An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...
between two branches of the
Continental Divide. I-80 and US 30 pass by the only town in the basin,
Wamsutter, which is accessed by an interchange with Kelly Street. The freeway has a junction with Continental Divide Road and an interchange with WYO 789, which joins the Interstate eastbound.
I-80, US 30, and WYO 789 intersect Riner Road before entering
Carbon County. The freeway continues through minor interchanges with Daley, Knobs, Hadsell, and Johnson roads; the freeway leaves the Great Divide Basin and enters the
Mississippi River watershed
The Mississippi River is the primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota ...
west of Hadsell Road. WYO 789,
I-80 Bus., and
US 30 Bus. split from I-80 and US 30 at the west end of the city of Rawlins, the county seat of Carbon County. The Interstate crosses over the Rawlins Subdivision rail line and has an interchange with
WYO 71 (Higley Boulevard). I-80 and US 30 cross back to the north side of the railroad and have a trumpet interchange with the two business routes and US 287, which joins the freeway heading east from Rawlins;
WYO 76 splits east from the eastbound loop of the interchange. The Interstate has a trumpet interchange with Lincoln Avenue at the west end of
Sinclair, then crosses over the railroad and WYO 76. I-80 and the two US Highways meet the eastern end of WYO 76 east of Sinclair. The three highways cross the
North Platte River just east of the
Fort Steele interchange.
US 30 and US 287 diverge from I-80 southwest of
Hanna;
WYO 130 heads south from the same interchange. I-80 continue east along the northern edge of the
Medicine Bow Mountains and has junctions with Peterson Road and
WYO 72, then crosses the
Medicine Bow River. The Interstate continues through interchanges with Elk Mountain Medicine Bow Road, Wagonhound Road, and
WYO 13 at
Arlington, where the freeway crosses
Rock Creek. I-80 intersects Cooper Cove Road before entering
Albany County. The Interstate has interchanges with Quealy Dome Road and
WYO 12 (Herrick Lane) around its crossing of the
Little Laramie River. I-80 passes along the southern edge of
Bamforth National Wildlife Refuge before entering Laramie, the county seat of Albany County. The freeway enters the city from the north, and
I-80 Bus. splits east along Curtis Street. I-80 has interchanges with
WYO 130 and
WYO 230 (Snowy Range Road) and with US 287 (3rd Street) and crossings of the
Laramie River and the Union Pacific Railroad's
Laramie Subdivision as it curves east. The Interstate receives its business route and US 30 at a trumpet interchange on the eastern edge of the city.
A book, ''Snow Chi Minh Trail: The History of Interstate 80 between Laramie and Walcott Junction'', was published by the Wyoming State Historical Society in 2017 describing the dangerous history of winter travel on the stretch of I-80 between exit 235 (near Rawlins and Hanna) and Laramie. Due to the numerous winter closures along this stretch, the
Wyoming Department of Transportation
The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) is the state agency that manages transportation infrastructure and services inWyoming. According to its official mission statement, it aims"to provide a safe, high quality, and efficient transpor ...
(WYDOT) has proposed rerouting the highway to the north along US 30.
Laramie to Pine Bluffs
East of Laramie, I-80 and US 30 head southeast and cross the
Laramie Mountains. The two highways reach their national high point at
Sherman Summit, where they have an interchange with
WYO 210 (Happy Jack Road). I-80 and US 30 have interchanges with Vedauwoo and Buford roads, the latter at the settlement of
Buford just before the freeway enters
Laramie County
Laramie County is a county located at the southeast corner of the U.S. state, state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 100,512 or 17.4% of the state's total 2020 population, making it the List of counties in Wy ...
. The Interstate and US Highways rejoin the railroad and pass through minor junctions with Remount, Harriman, and Warren roads. I-80 and US 30 meet the western end of
WYO 225 (Otto Road), which they parallel east to Cheyenne. The two highways have an interchange with
WYO 222 (Roundtop Road) just west of a three-ramp
partial cloverleaf interchange
A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange.
The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with the eastern end of WYO 225 (Otto Road) and the western end of
I-80 Bus. (Lincolnway), onto which US 30 exits. The missing movement from the surface highway to eastbound I-80 is made via the business route's nearby interchange with I-25 and
US 87.
I-80 continues east across the Union Pacific Railroad to a full
cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange (road), interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passe ...
with I-25 and US 87, where the highway enters the city of Cheyenne, the county seat and state capital. The Interstate crosses over a
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...
line and has a diamond interchange with
US 85 and the southern end of I-180, a non-freeway spur into downtown Cheyenne. East of I-180, I-80 receives the eastern end of its business route at its junction with
WYO 212 (College Drive). East of its interchange with Campstool Road, the freeway leaves the city of Cheyenne and collects the eastern end of US 30 (Archer Boulevard). I-80 and US 30 have interchanges serving
Hillsdale and
Egbert around a junction with
WYO 213 and
WYO 214, which serve
Burns
Burns may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2708 Burns, an asteroid
* Burns (crater), on Mercury
People
* Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns
** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer
Places in the United States
* Burns, ...
and
Carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...
, respectively. I-80 and US 30 reapproach the Union Pacific Railroad's
Sidney Subdivision east of Burns and parallel it to Pine Bluffs, the easternmost town in Wyoming. There, US 30 splits north and immediately meets the southern terminus of
WYO 215. At the eastern town limit of Pine Bluffs, I-80 enters
Kimball County, Nebraska.
History
The last major section of I-80 in Wyoming was completed on Saturday, October 3, 1970. Just four days later, a winter snowstorm shut down the highway. Thus, the stretch of I-80, between Rawlins and Laramie, was nicknamed the Snow Chi Minh Trail, as its harsh conditions evoked the
North Vietnamese trail system used for infiltration into
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
.
Exit list
Related routes
I-80 has eight Interstate business routes in Wyoming. In addition, there is also one auxiliary Interstate in the state,
I-180 in Cheyenne.
See also
*
I-80 History
*
Interstate Highway History
*
References
External links
{{State detail page browse, type=I, route=80, state=Wyoming, stateafter=Nebraska, statebefore=Utah
80
Wyoming
Transportation in Uinta County, Wyoming
Transportation in Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Transportation in Carbon County, Wyoming
Transportation in Albany County, Wyoming
Transportation in Laramie County, Wyoming
Transportation in Cheyenne, Wyoming