John Barrasso: More work needed to address reservation roads

According to the University of Wyoming, when compared to the rest of Wyoming's state and local roads, Wind River has the highest rate of serious car crashes.

The reservation leads the state in motor vehicle crashes involving young adults ages 24 to 34. The rate of alcohol-related car accidents on the reservation is more than three times higher than the rest of the state.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2004 to 2010 Wyoming had one of the five highest motor vehicle-related death rates among American Indians.

These numbers are not unique to Wind River. They are representative of an epidemic of dangerous roads across Indian Country.

"Two Indian people die in one day, every day in America." This troubling statement was shared last week with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs during an oversight hearing by witnesses that face potentially deadly situations on a daily basis. John Smith, the director of the Department of Transportation for the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River Indian Reservation, testified "Why is this? It's simply put: Bad roads and, more often, unpaved roads."

Nationwide, just 17 percent of tribal roads were deemed acceptable by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). According to the Federal Highway Administration, 70 percent of tribal roads remain unpaved, and 14 percent of bridges are structurally deficient.