The extensive road work that took up most of last summer and fall may have just been a warm up for this summer’s construction schedule that is set to begin in late May.
According to Summit County Engineer Derrick Radke, this will be a pretty big year for road construction in Summit County.
“Our biggest project this summer is building a roundabout on Ute Boulevard and Uinta Way near the Smith’s,” Radke said.
The proposed roundabout east of State Road 224 is part of an agreement with the developers of The Village at Kimball Junction to mitigate traffic. The roundabout will also help with traffic calming measures once the Boyer Research Park is fully developed.
According to Radke, the construction of the roundabout will cost $850,000, including $30,000 in land acquisition. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-June and last all summer. A second roundabout at the intersection of Uinta Way and Newpark Boulevard will be constructed next summer.
“None of our projects come with full road closure, just temporary lane closures and flaggers,” Radke said. “We have a lot of overlays and resurfacing to do to maintain our roads. The light winter made it so the roads did not take as big of a beating, but there are the usual potholes and freeze damage to deal with. We have had most of these capital projects planned and budgeted years in advance.”
Summit County will also resurface Canyons Drive from S.R. 224 to Red Pine Loop and complete the Highland Drive trail beginning in mid-May. The total cost of road construction for Summit County is estimated to cost $4 million, Radke said. The County may also finish repaving a portion of Old Ranch Road, but Radke said that is dependent on acquiring the necessary right-of-way easements.
Adan Carrillo, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Transportation, said that this year will have less intrusive projects but residents may still experience delays due to road work, especially along Interstate 80.
“We have ongoing projects from last year and are always continuing our efforts of safety and preserving the roads,” he said. “We have ongoing resurfacing projects on State Road 32 and are going to add a cable median on Interstate 80 near the Wyoming border.”
The UDOT construction projects in Summit County are estimated to cost around $28 million this year. The largest scheduled projects include replacing the bridge at the Wanship interchange on I-80 and resurfacing I-80 from Coalville to the State Road 32 intersection. The two projects are estimated to cost $12 million and construction is estimated to last all summer.
Other projects planned along I-80 include resurfacing the road from Lambs Canyon to Summit Park and near the Silver Creek and U.S. 40 intersection. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and Carrillo said there will be temporary lane closures and slight delays associated with the projects.
State Road 248 from Park City High School to the roundabout on Deer Valley Drive will also be resurfaced and is scheduled to take three months. Carrillo said construction on the road will begin next week.
For a complete list of road construction projects visit www.summitcounty.org/engineering or www.udot.utah.gov .