CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Department of Transportation is urging drivers to not race road closure gates following at least 23 recorded gate crashes since 2020.

WYDOT says there have been a number of near misses as well.

“What drivers don’t understand is that they’re racing to be the first one on a closed road, not the last one on an open road,” WYDOT Assistant Chief Engineer Mark Ayen said.

According to state statute, road closure signs, which include overhead digital messaging signs, meet the requirements for notifying the public that a road is closed, even if WYDOT staff haven’t made it to a road closure gate yet.

“The gates have to be hand cranked, which often means someone has to leave their plowing route to travel to the gate and lower it,” Ayen said. “Sometimes that can take as lon

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