Construction delays in Big Cottonwood Canyon expected to wrap up by week’s end says UDOT

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — Officials with the Utah Department of Transportation say drivers should not be dealing with any more construction delays in Big Cottonwood Canyon come Thursday.

Becky Stromness, UDOT’s SR-190 Pavement Preservation project manager, said they hope to have the last section of the road repaved by Thursday, ending the alternating traffic setup that’s been holding some drivers back.

Since late June, Stromness said they’ve been working to repave the lower half of the road in Big Cottonwood Canyon as well as the portion of Guardsman Pass that closes in the wintertime.

Stromness said all they have left to repave is a stretch of the road about two miles east of the park and ride at the canyon mouth. Stromness said they expect to complete that by Thursday.

Once that happens, drivers won’t have to take turns using one lane to get through the canyon.

“We’re always excited when we have freshly paved roads…it puts us in good shape as we head into the winter months,” Stromness said. ” We know the canyons are busy year-round and [people] just like to get in and get out as quickly as possible.”

Stromness said the delays vary for drivers depending on what time of day they drive through the canyon, but she said they’ve tried to keep the delays to no more than 10 to 15 minutes.

Additionally, she said roads can deteriorate at different rates, depending on weather and other factors.  Generally, UDOT hopes newly paved roads, like this one, last between seven and ten years.

Future construction may be coming

However, drivers around Big Cottonwood Canyon might not be fully out of the woods yet.

Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake City and Sandy is working on a pipeline project in the canyon. It’s unclear if there will be delays or if workers will need to implement any closures in the surrounding area.

A spokesperson for Metro Water said they were still working out a lot of the project details at the time of publication.

Other reading:

• Plans to extend West Davis Highway keeps up with state growth
• How Utah construction workers are battling triple digit heat
• National Weather Service says excessive heat could stick around

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