Section of I-80 closed as crews use dish soap to help replace bridge

SALT LAKE CITY — A section of I-80 will be closed until Monday morning as crews replace a bridge on 1300 East with the help of Dawn Dish Soap. The closure takes place between 700 East and Foothill Drive.

Utah Department Of Transportation spokesperson John Gleason says crews are demolishing the old bridge from the 1960s and sliding the new one into place. This is a technique that saves quite a bit of time, according to Gleason.

“It takes just about a weekend,” he says. “Usually [when] you have a construction project like this, you see closures in places for months at a time.”

Along with this, Gleason says this technique involves, of all things, Dawn Dish Soap. He says the soap assists in sliding the bridge into place.

“This is probably one of the most low-tech things that we do,” he says. “It’s very effective. It slides the bridge into place. And, we’ve been doing this for the last several years.”

Upwards of 16 gallons of the soap is used as part of the technique, according to Gleason.

UDOT hopes to reopen the freeway Monday at 5 a.m.

Devin Oldroyd contributed to this story.

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