Following its Hall of Fame induction this weekend, a portion of the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail, a Utah state park, is being forced into retirement but it’s only temporary.

A stretch of one of the most used and most popular trails in Summit County will be closed for the remainder of the summer and possibly into early fall now that a bridge reconstruction project by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) along portions of Interstate 80 has begun.

According to UDOT, construction of a new bridge on I-80 at Atkinson Canyon began May 23.

The safety of trail users was the primary reason the closure was a necessity, according to Adan Carrillo, public involvement coordinator for UDOT in Summit County.

“These bridges were all built pretty much around the same time, about 40 to 50 years ago,” he said. “In order for us to make sure the infrastructures are still safe and sound, we have an aggressive plan to replace these bridges.

“We believe these new bridges won’t have to be replaced for another 70 to 75 years.”

The project, according to Carrillo, is called “Renovate I-80” and is scheduled to reconstruct I-80 and bridges from Salt Lake City up to the Wyoming border.

In Summit County alone, Carrillo said the project will also replace the interchange bridge at Summit Park on I-80 and replace the eastbound interchange bridge at Echo Junction. He said UDOT will also be replacing about 13 barriers along I-80 from Kimball Junction to the Wyoming state line.

According to Deena Loyola, a public information officer with the Utah State Parks Department and Park City resident, nearly two years prior to breaking ground on construction, UDOT was doing research on how it could do the job without leaving much of a footprint and even had an environmental outreach program designed.

“For all 43 state parks, safety is our No. 1 concern,” she said. “While it’s always hard to close a park, we completely support UDOT.”

Loyola said she is encouraging regulars of the Rail Trail to venture outside the box a bit this summer and take advantage of other trail systems in Summit and even Wasatch County. She said the Rail Trail is her preferred trail in Summit County, but she will have to look elsewhere this summer.

“We live in Utah because of the outdoors,” she said. “There are so many other wonderful trail systems around here.”

Charlie Sturgis, executive director of the Mountain Trails Foundation, which maintains the Rail Trail, said the trail can still be used as an out-and-back track from both the Park City and Wanship sides.

“The good thing on the Park City side is, the alternative will be you can get off the trail at the trailhead near Home Depot area or Promontory. You can get off and turn back around,” he said.

Sturgis said it is disappointing to have one of the main trail arteries of Summit County be pinched off at the center, especially since the temperatures are starting to pick up.

“It’s always frustrating, I think, in Park City because we’re a resort town,” he said. “We’re in the mountains, so (construction) requires the same kind of good weather that everyone comes down to town for.”

Sturgis said while many ideas were brainstormed to try and keep the trail open, nothing realistic came out of it. “We really couldn’t come up with an answer,” he said.

Carrillo said prior to the initiative being approved, UDOT did an extensive environmental study to make sure a project of this magnitude wouldn’t permanently disrupt the setting surrounding the trail.

“Anytime we do a project like this, we conduct a pretty thorough impact study on wildlife, environment, how can we put it back together the way it was,” he said. “On this bridge, we’re only replacing the Atkinson eastbound structure (over the Rail Trail).”

Carrillo said UDOT is reaching new heights when it comes to building and forming the new bridges. He said UDOT is using a new type of assembly called “accelerated-bridge construction” which allows new bridges to be built on site, and then slid into place in a few hours. Once the new bridge is fully constructed on site parallel to the old bridge, the old bridge will be demolished and the new bridge will be moved in to take its place. In 2008, two bridges were replaced in Parleys Canyon using this new technique.

“The way we used to do it, we would shut down the road, be in the middle of the road and have delays,” he said. “We’re pretty much doing everything we can right now, with cutting-edge technology, to get this done.

“We’ve really got to be aggressive. We do realize that this trail is used pretty heavily by people out there; this is one of the reasons why we’re using this new technology to build this bridge. We would love to have people use the other vast path of networks of trails. We want them to get out there and enjoy the weather. Hopefully, they can appreciate what we’re doing and we’ll be done before they know it.”

Carrillo estimates the trail will be closed 12 weeks, and reiterated it wouldn’t be possible without compromises from Mountain Trails, Utah State Parks and the Summit County community.

Sturgis also knows the construction is a priority and that the timing of the work is simply unfortunate.

“It’s shackled a few people’s buzzes for the summer,” he said. “But, somewhere along the line, these things just have to happen.”

For more information on the Rail Trail closure and the Renovate I-80 plan, visit www.udot.utah.gov/renovatei80 .