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Item Open Access 2026 Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Report(Jay Kemmerer Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality (WORTH) Institute, Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation, 2026-04-01)This report provides a comprehensive overview of the economic, social, and institutional dimensions of outdoor recreation in Wyoming, highlighting its role as a critical driver of statewide prosperity and community development. In 2024, outdoor recreation contributed $2.3 billion to Wyoming’s GDP—representing 4.5% of the state’s economy and ranking among the highest shares nationally—while supporting 16,545 jobs and generating $4.9 billion in visitor spending. Beyond its economic significance, the report emphasizes the growing importance of coordinated, place-based strategies to sustain and expand recreation opportunities. The Wyoming Office of Outdoor Recreation’s network of regional collaboratives demonstrates a scalable model for stakeholder-driven planning, infrastructure development, and cross-sector partnership. Concurrently, the establishment of the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Trust Fund marks a major policy advancement, enabling targeted investment in recreation infrastructure, public access, and community capacity building. The report also documents sector growth across key activities—including hiking, outfitted travel, and equestrian recreation—while illustrating the broader economic ripple effects through direct, indirect, and induced impacts totaling over $7.0 billion in output . Complementing these findings, statewide convenings such as the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Summit reinforce the importance of workforce development, knowledge exchange, and industry alignment. Collectively, this report positions outdoor recreation as a foundational pillar of Wyoming’s diversified economy and a strategic opportunity for long-term, sustainable development. It underscores the need for continued investment, collaboration, and data-informed decision-making to enhance quality of life for residents while supporting resilient communities and responsible recreation growth across the state.Item Open Access Pavement Management System Analysis for Campbell County and Wyoming(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2025-12-04)This study presents a comprehensive pavement management system (PMS) analysis for Campbell County, Wyoming, with the objective of evaluating current pavement conditions and developing cost-effective maintenance and rehabilitation strategies. The analysis utilizes key pavement performance indicators, including the Pavement Condition Index (PCI), International Roughness Index (IRI), rut depth, and Present Serviceability Index (PSI), to assess roadway conditions and compare county roads with statewide systems such as interstate, primary, and secondary highways. The study highlights the importance of implementing a data-driven PMS framework at the county level to support informed decision-making, optimize resource allocation, and enhance long-term pavement performance under budget constraints. The proposed methodology provides a practical and scalable approach for improving local roadway infrastructure management.Item Open Access Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design for Multi-Class Roadways: A Case Study Using AASHTOWare Pavement ME(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2025-05-06)This study presents a comprehensive application of the Mechanistic–Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) using AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design software to develop and evaluate optimal pavement structures for multiple roadway classifications, including interstate highways, state highways, and local roads. The analysis integrates key design inputs such as traffic loading (ESAL-based), climate conditions, material properties, and reliability criteria to predict long-term pavement performance. The findings highlight the effectiveness of the MEPDG framework in enabling performance-based, reliability-oriented pavement design and emphasize the importance of integrating climate, traffic, and material variability in decision-making. This study provides practical insights for transportation agencies to optimize pavement design for durability, cost-efficiency, and long-term serviceability under real-world conditions.Item Open Access Optimal Truck Platoon Gap Control to Facilitate Multiple Vehicle Overtaking on Two-Lane Highways(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2025-07-31)Truck platooning on two-lane highways introduces overtaking challenges for human-driven vehicles due to limited passing sight distances and tightly spaced connected trucks. This paper develops a cooperative gap control framework that enables multiple vehicles to safely overtake a three-truck platoon in the presence of opposing traffic. The framework includes two overtaking assistance strategies, local and global, both relying on trajectory prediction, gap indexing, and dynamic control. The local strategy reacts to immediate opposing gaps, enabling segmented overtaking through temporary intra-platoon accommodation. In contrast, the global strategy evaluates multiple future gaps to coordinate a single-stage overtaking maneuver with minimal disruption. A simulation-based evaluation compares the two strategies by optimizing a cost function that balances control effort and platoon reconfiguration penalties. Results show that while the local strategy performs well under simple conditions, it is prone to higher tracking errors in complex scenarios. The global strategy demonstrates greater consistency and robustness by anticipating traffic conditions and minimizing intra-platoon adjustments. The study highlights the importance of predictive, cooperative control in supporting safe and efficient multi-vehicle overtaking on rural highways and offers a foundation for future extensions incorporating stochasticity, sensor uncertainty, and mixed traffic environments.Item Open Access Utilization of Bottom Ash in Asphalt Mixes(University of Wyoming Libraries, 2024-12-05)This study investigates the utilization of bottom ash as an alternative material in asphalt mixes and evaluates its impact on pavement performance. Bottom ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, offers potential environmental and economic benefits when used in road construction. In this study, asphalt mixes incorporating bottom ash from three different power plant sources in Wyoming (Fontenelle, Jim Bridger, and Glendo) were developed and compared with a conventional control mix. Overall, the findings suggest that bottom ash can be effectively utilized in asphalt mixes, particularly at optimized proportions, contributing to sustainable pavement construction by reducing waste and conserving natural resources. However, careful consideration of mix design and performance characteristics is necessary to ensure compliance with specifications and long-term durability.
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