It's not just a road.

Memorial Way is a matter of life and death and property and safety for the residents of the Town of Evansville.

Construction crews will be working from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for two weeks to  complete a project nearly 20 years since its inception to give an alternative access to Evansville.

Memorial Way runs between Metro/Station roads on the west to Resaw's Bridge on V.A. Cemetery Road just north of the North Platte River.

If you travel this road to go to work or to the Casper Regional Solid Waste Facility, 1886 Station Road, you will need to plan an alternate route.

When crews finish paving, they will paint stripes on the road and install delineator poles.

Memorial Way is critical for the safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Evansville, because its residents had no way to get help if a train blocked its three entrances.

According to the WLC engineering and surveying, Evansville straddles the north and south sides of the BNSF Railway line at its three access points -- Western Avenue, Curtis Street and Evans Street -- all from the south.

Eight 100-car trains pass through Evansville daily on average, each train takes about six to seven minutes to pass an individual crossing, and that adds up to 50 minutes to 55 minutes daily, according to WLC.

The access points from Western Avenue to Evans Street are only 3,600 feet apart, so all three can be blocked at the same time by one train.

"Beyond the major inconvenience to residents, emergency response times are negatively impacted by these train delays," according to WLC. "In addition, possible derailment, chemical spills or other events could occur, trapping the 80% of residents located north of the mainline."

Through a series of negations among Evansville, Casper, the Veterans Administration and the state, the property for Memorial Way was secured. Grants from the Wyoming Business Council and consensus funds from Natrona County are paying for the project.

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