Many citizens may have noticed that construction on the 1st North Bridge has ceased in the last few days and this is due to special permission needed from the railroad to continue demolition of the section of the bridge over the tracks. Previously, authorization was given to UDOT to proceed with false work underneath the bridge but each time work is affecting the tracks special approval must be granted.

“It’s putting the project on a delay at this point. We were expecting, at least hoping to have that permit in a day or so ago but we still have not seen it and so we are kind of at the mercy of the railroad to hear when we get the go head on the rest of that demolition,” said Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Spokesperson, Kevin Kitchen. “In the meantime, the contractors have been looking at any place that they can potentially condense schedule. At this point, I think if we were to get approval today there is a good possibility that we could keep on schedule or make up some schedule but if we don’t see those approvals soon, we could be pushing this project into the school year.”  This is not only could be putting the construction of the bridge behind schedule but it is also costly for the contractor who has equipment that is being unused as they wait for the approval.

The construction on Highway 10 south of Price is moving along smoothly although some work is making it difficult to move through some sections for residents who live alongside that project.  “Couple of issues for a few folks that live there, one is garbage collection. So what they are asking of folks that are involved there to just set their cans out and then the construction workers will move those over to the garbage trucks so they can pick those up so we don’t run into any issues with people in the work zone and injuries and things like that,” stated Kitchen. The other area of concern for residents is the drop off near driveways. There are a few ramp-like routes that are set up for homeowners to use in order to drive around those difficult areas and they should be aware that those paths will need to be shared with their neighbors during construction.

Residents can receive project updates by sending an email to dave@frontlinepi.com to be added to the project news list.