Wyoming freight movement and wind vulnerability.

The movement of freight in the State of Wyoming is critical to Wyoming's economy as well as the national economy. Wyoming's transportation system provides a vital link for the movement of commodities across the United States in addition to providing access to the mineral, industrial, and agricultural resources of the state. The intent of this research is twofold. First is to get an overall understanding of freight movement within the state including freight vehicle counts, commodity types, and freight vehicle accidents. The second intent of the research is to focus on freight vehicle safety in strong wind conditions. High wind conditions are the frequent cause of freight vehicle rollover, often forcing the shutdown of roadways and halting the movement of freight through these heavily used corridors. The wind research studies the weather station data and looks at the correlation between measured wind speeds and the likelihood of freight vehicle rollover accidents. The focus of this research is on truck and rail freight movement since air and water freight modes represent a very small portion of the goods movement in the state. Pipelines are addressed to a lesser extent.