Utah 24 November 24, 2019

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November 24 2019

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UDOT Works on U.S. 40/Strawberry Valley Passing Lanes By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT

Deemed one of Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT)’s Top 10 Projects for 2019, the $37 million U.S. 40/Strawberry Valley Passing Lanes project will add 5 mi. to an existing westbound passing lane and will repave 18 mi. from Daniels Summit to Soldier Creek. Construction began a few months ago, and continues through next summer. “The project is advancing well,” said Jason Richins, UDOT project engineer. “We have hit many milestones. Due to the high altitude and a short construction season, it will take two seasons to complete the 17-mi.-long project. There were some weather and wetland permit delays at the beginning of the season, but we have made great progress since then.” U.S. 40 is the main corridor that connects eastern Utah to the more populated area of the Wasatch Front. The roadway serves multiple users, including truckers and commuters, making it a key eastwest connection for the state. Because of the high elevation, this rural area experiences early and late snow storms and cooler temperatures compared with valley levels. The roadway also runs along a wetland area and with the

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Deemed one of Utah Department of Transportation’s Top 10 Projects for 2019, the $37 million U.S. 40/Strawberry Valley Passing Lanes project will add 5 mi. to an existing westbound passing lane and will repave 18 mi. from Daniels Summit to Soldier Creek.

additional moisture, it created several soft spots on the shoulders that needed to dry out before crews could start widening the highway. “It’s also used for ranching, and is an active wildlife area,” said Richins. “This required us to better secure the work area to improve safety for the construction crews

and the large animals moving through the project area. We even encountered beaver dams that affected our drainage systems and some of our other work.” Unexpected Issues Construction crews have already had to deal with some

unexpected issues. “We had one of the wettest winters in Utah, and the project area is around 8,000 ft. in elevation. Crews were planning to start in April, but at that time we still had several feet of snow, which delayed their work until May. Other challenges included

drainage culverts, intended to be relined, that were actually crushed and needed to be replaced. Fiber optic lines needed to be relocated, and with the amount of roadway excavation, the contractor had to increase the number of borrow sites to store the extra material” Work on the eastern 6 mi., between milepost 46 to 52, is almost finished. Nearly all the drain pipes and culverts have been replaced or relined, and conduit has been relocated and extended throughout the project limits. The middle 6 mi. are scheduled to be completed in 2020, as part of the effort to rebuild the pavement. Currently, crews are paving the two initial layers of pavement in the widened areas. “The wildlife fencing also is being installed,” said Richins. “Our contractor, Knife River, is finishing the side slope treatments, replanting the area and removing erosion control materials from the roadway. “The fiber line has been relocated and extended throughout the project limits, and traffic cameras are being installed. Also, a Roadway Weather Information System (RWIS) is being installed near the Strawberry Marina turnoff. These features will enable us to gather traffic and road condition data, monitor conditions and see PROJECT page 8

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