Highway Construction Impacts on Wyoming Businesses

Abstract

Highway construction projects can affect motorists and businesses in many ways. Even though construction projects are temporary situations, many businesses worry about the level of impact during construction and the length and magnitude of the recovery period. Highway construction may cause a temporary loss of customers, revenue, and property value as well as create noise and air pollution and other problems. Currently, there is little information that quantifies the estimated business impacts, particularly for rural areas such as Wyoming. This study investigated the business-related effects of highway construction projects in Wyoming and provided managers at the Wyoming Department of Transportation with case studies and impact estimates to better address business owners’ concerns. The study also compared the businesses’ perceptions of what happened to their sales during and after construction with the actual impact on the businesses’ sales for the same time period. Perceived impact data were collected through surveys sent to businesses in the 12 case study projects across Wyoming, and Wyoming Department of Revenue tax data were used to examine the actual estimated sales data before, during, and after construction. In addition to sales revenue data, traffic volumes and right-of-way purchase information were compared with the business owners’ perceptions. The result of the study was the quantification of actual impacts as well as an analysis of the difference between the actual and perceived impacts.