Drivers heading into Cody from Powell should be prepared to slow down: Work to install a traffic light at Big Horn Avenue’s intersection with Blackburn Street is slated to begin next week.

Tentatively beginning Monday, motorists will see crews on site from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., five days a week.

“Motorists should expect driving lane closures with minimal delays, as needed for construction, during working hours,” Wyoming Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Todd Frost said in a news release.

The prime contractor for the $564,000 project is Casper Electric, which will put in the new light and replace the existing curb, gutter and sidewalk to meet federal Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act requirements, Frost said.

WYDOT had planned ahead for a traffic light at the Blackburn Avenue intersection, having installed the necessary conduits when Big Horn Avenue was last reconstructed.

The intersection, located near Big Horn Cinemas, can get particularly congested as vehicles turn on and off the highway. There have been multiple crashes in the area in recent years, including a March 2023 incident in which an allegedly impaired driver crashed into the El Vaquero restaurant.

The project is also part from a broader, years-long campaign to provide a crossing on the busy east Cody highway, which is frequently traversed by middle school students.

Closer to the middle school, the city plans to install permanent median refuge islands and a pedestrian hybrid beacon (a kind of traffic light that only operates when pedestrians are present) at the Freedom Street/Big Horn Avenue intersection to allow for safer crossings. A temporary crosswalk has been in place since the start of the 2022-2023 school year.

In early discussions, WYDOT said a traffic light at Blackburn Street would be important to have alongside a pedestrian crossing, as it would help slow traffic.

Many people, including Park County School District 6 officials, have asked for a crossing on Big Horn Avenue, particularly after Cody began downtown redevelopment planning in 2019.

The avenue has become more heavily trafficked in recent years due to more business and housing developments in the area.

Casper Electric is due to have the new traffic light completed by June 30.

— By Zac Taylor and CJ Baker