Castle Country Radio was able to catch up with Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Spokesperson, Kevin Kitchen to talk about the new Port of Entry construction taking place just north of Price, the Signal Interconnect Program and upcoming chip seal projects.

The concrete for the new Port of Entry has been completed and they are now working on the buildings. Unfortunately, they have ran into a few snags with material for the buildings. “From a building perspective, it’s another issue. We’ve had supply chain issues, particularly issues with steel and the price is still escalating and then of course just work issues on making sure we can get the crews out there because of COVID that’s kind of always been in play this past year. We’re dealing with the same issues that basically the rest of the construction industry is dealing with,” stated Kitchen. Originally the Port of Entry was to be operational by July 2021 but it looks like that will not take place. A new date to open up is not known at this time as it depends on when they are able to get the building supplies needed to complete the buildings.

Another project that UDOT is working on is the Signal Interconnect Program which will be starting up in the next week or so. “We got a Signal Interconnect Program in Region 4, which is the southern half of the state where we’re looking at 15 signalized intersections. What we’re doing is going to upgrade those so that they are better monitoring and gives us the ability to have a little more remote control and help out with the timing of those. A good chunk of those are actually in the Price area,” explained Kitchen. Those signal lights will be worked on are at three different locations on 100 North, again on 700 East, then on Price River Drive. Drivers are urged to travel with caution as UDOT workers are working at these different locations.

With the summer months approaching that means it time for chip seal projects. “These are not necessarily in the Price area, these are Huntington, Wellington areas we’re looking at hitting. Most likely going to take place after July, right now the schedule says July 6 to be down in Huntington. These will be quick projects, you know two to three miles. Typically, it takes one to two days to get the chips laid and then they have to let it cure, then they come back and do a quick flush coat,” explained Kitchen. The scheduled dates for chip seal work will be July 6 and 7 in Huntington and July 7 and July 8 in Wellington.