At Issue
“The WYDOT Planning and Environmental Linkages Study (PEL), published January 2014, evaluated the WY 22 corridor (Segment 1) and concluded that future traffic would warrant a 4-lane + median cross section, an outcome confirmed during development of this Integrated Transportation Plan. WYDOT’s future traffic forecast for this segment is 35,000 VPD (vehicles per day), up from 23,000 VPD today. The PEL study assigned Segment 1 medium priority relative to other corridor elements. Intersections along this roadway were also addressed in the WYDOT PEL study and are treated here as part of the roadway project. The Town and County will work with WYDOT to explore the potential of dedicating new lane capacity in this corridor to exclusive Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) / high occupancy vehicle (HOV) use. This dedication of lanes to BRT / HOV use, or other prioritization measures, may extend to part or all of West Broadway. The Comprehensive Plan identifies this as a high priority project.”
—From Page 30 of the 2015 Integrated Transportation Plan
In 2020, WYDOT’s STIP was updated to include widening of WY 22 from the Y to WY 390.
RGC Point of View
RGC is opposed to making WY 22 a 4-5 lane highway. WY 22 is a busy thoroughfare into and out of Jackson during rush hour mainly during the summer. It is used by local residents, commuters from Idaho, commercial vehicles and tourists. Increasing the number of lanes on Highway 22 will only induce more vehicular traffic and not alleviate congestion. Therefore there would be no clear benefits to our community from this road’s expansion.
The costs to the community would be substantial: significant potential damage to the environment both along the WY 22 corridor and valley-wide. Of greatest concern is the potential formation of a pollution layer, such as exist in communities like Park City, UT and Logan, UT.
We support the public transit objectives of the ITP and believe WY 22 should be left as is, to self-limit the amount of traffic and growth through the heart of our valley.