GILLETTE, Wyo. — In a unanimous decision, the Campbell County Board of Commissioners approved a multi-day blockage of South Garner Road in conjunction with Camporee during its meeting on Tuesday.
The closure of South Garner Road between Highway 51 and Boxelder Road will last from Aug. 6 to Aug. 11.
The closure will officially start at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 6 and will end end at 6 a.m. Sunday.
The closure will coincide with the Camporee event taking place at CAM-PLEX during that time, and was organized in the interest of pedestrian safety during the event, Campbell County Emergency Management Coordinator David King said.
After months of discussion, a working group with members from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, the Gillette Police Department, WYDOT, CAM-PLEX and county emergency management decided a road closure was the best possible solution to keep the area safe for pedestrians during the event. King also noted that in past community events in the area without road closures there has been at least one instance of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle.
“We had a county employee that got hit by a car out there one time during, ironically, a county wellness walk. And, you know, we were lucky that she survived because it was an extremely tragic incident. And I think that’s pretty well burned into my memory that cars and pedestrians are not [compatible],” King said.
The fact that South Garner Road is a trucking route frequently used by semi trucks, not just regular car traffic, increases potential risks to pedestrians as well. WYDOT will be working to reroute traffic for the road closure as well as make sure truckers are notified well ahead of time, King said.
The closure will be comprised of concrete barriers that will be unmanned, given the manpower strains to local law enforcement and WYDOT caused by Camporee itself as well as the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
