TransAmerica Section 5, 9 miles of milled pavement W. of Jeffrey City. Sept 2022

[CoMandy]

On map panels 56 & 57, the road from the west edge of Jeffrey City, then extending 9 miles to the west, is very difficult to travel by bicycle (at least with road tires).

The road was open when I came through but was milled in the past week. The grooves are in a pattern similar to an asterisk (parallel, perpendicular, and diagonal to the road). It's like rolling on high-density rumble strips laid down in 4 different directions. Tires get twisted in every direction as they fall into multi-directional grooves. Road markings are missing.

Locals said a new surface will be in place in October, then there will be chip and seal work in the spring.

My hands went numb every mile or so trying to control the bicycle.

It doesn't look like there's an alternate route. Use extreme caution, be prepared for closures, and be mentally ready for a very slow section that may include walking (on a stretch of the route that is already quite remote).

[John Nettles]

Welcome to the ACA Forums!  Very few people provide information instead of asking about information on their very first post.  Good job!  Hope the rest of your tour goes well.

Tailwinds, John

[ERB]

Thanks for great information! I'm coming up on that section and will keep my eyes peeled. I'll plan to post an update on conditions after I get through it.

Very much appreciated!

[ERB]

As of Sept 29, 2022 the road was smoothed over for the vast majority of this section. There were not lines painted as of yet, but the lanes are big and the surface is smooth and new. The only small length of rough sections remaining were when you get "on" or "off" the construction area (20' max length each). There is construction ongoing though, so wear bright colors and have your lights on for this section (both east and west bound). When rode through (headed east) I had to stop with traffic while they let the other direction (westbound) traffic go through a 2-3 miles stretch. Then when they let the eastbound traffic go through that stretch, I booked it to try to keep up with the lead car. Luckily, the construction workers all had radios and they obviously radioed ahead to let everyone know there was a cyclist coming. The didn't let the next round of westbound traffic start until I had gotten through that stretch of the construction area. Overall, not too bad.

Cheers!