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 transportation system."

WYDOT employs nearly 2,000 people across approximately 60 locations, making it one of the larger government agencies in the state. Its functions include road planning and maintenance, driver licensing and vehicle registration, aviation support, and coordination between its various divisions, including the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

WYDOT headquarters are located in northwest Cheyenne adjacent to the Central Avenue Interchange (exit 12) on I-25. In addition, road construction and maintenance operations are divided among five field districts, headquartered in Basin, Casper, Laramie, Rock Springs, and Sheridan.

WYDOT was formed in 1991, incorporating the Wyoming Highway Department, along with the Wyoming Aeronautics Commission and transportation-related elements of the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Taxation and the Wyoming Public Service Commission.

The old Highway Department had existed since 1917, when it was created in response to the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, in which Congress decreed that as a prerequisite for the receipt of federal funds, a state must have a highway department (or similar agency) in place and functioning. Until that time, road improvements were the responsibility of local governments.

During the 1920s, as the pace of road improvement picked up, so did the need for maintenance. In Wyoming, the initial maintenance work was very basic in nature and carried on only during the summer. Winter motor travel was practically unknown in those days, consequently the agency's maintenance forces were laid off in the fall of the year, with only a few mechanics retained to overhaul equipment.