Nearly $100,000 of federal funding will help keep down the dust on some gravel roads in the Clark and Meeteetse areas.

The Wyoming Department of Transportation recently awarded Park County a grant through its Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) program, which will be used to apply dust suppressant to more than 24 miles of gravel.

Most of the routes in-line for suppressant — about 15.6 miles — lie in the Clark area, with the other 8.8 miles being southwest of Meeteetse. A contractor will apply the material this spring, said Park County Engineer Brian Edwards.

In addition to limiting the amount of dust kicked into the air by traffic, county officials say suppressants reduce maintenance and keep roads in better shape.

“The use of the dust control agents has been proven to lengthen the life of roadway material by acting as a binder and hardener ...,” the county wrote in its grant application.

WYDOT agreed to provide $99,320 worth of federal dollars for the project, covering 80 percent of the costs. The county is covering the other 20 percent ($24,830) for a total project cost of $124,150; any extra costs must be picked up by the county.

The federal help was welcomed by the commissioners, particularly amid the Park County government’s current budget crunch.

“It’s one of the items that the county’s going to have to look a lot closer at as we go forward — these state and federal grants,” Commission Chairman Jake Fulkerson said on Dec. 17, as commissioners formally accepted the dollars.

“Every little bit helps,” agreed Edwards, noting that it’s the second consecutive year that the county has received a boost from the WYDOT program.

The longest stretch of road that will be hit with suppressants is on Road 4EU outside of Meeteetse; the 4.55 miles run along the north side of the Greybull River, providing access to residences and ranches. Another 1.8 miles of Road 3XQ and 2.4 miles of Road 5WT in the Meeteetse area will also be treated.

Meanwhile, in Clark, the county plans to apply suppressant to 4.37 miles of Road 8UC, which leads to a state-owned parcel of land known as the Beartooth Ranch. A mile of Windsor Way, which provides access to the Clark landfill, will also be treated, along with 2.88 miles of Road 1AF and 2.68 miles of Road 1BF. Dust suppressants will also be applied to smaller stretches (0.4 to 0.9 miles) of roads 1BI, 8RA, 8SA, 8UDS, 8WCE, 1AFW, 1AG and 1AH.

In total, the Park County Road and Bridge Department maintains roughly 190 miles of gravel roads.