Completion of a new bridge over the Paria River and paving improvements on the highway leading to Kodachrome Basin State Park are expected to increase the number of visitors to the park.
Construction is well under way on the 200-foot bridge, and the paving project is scheduled for completion in mid-July, said Park Superintendent Tom Shakespeare. Paving will extend for nine miles between the park to near Cannonville, Garfield County.Some Bryce Canyon National Park officials have predicted that visits by tourists to see the strange geological formations at Kodachrome will increase by 10 percent.
Shakespeare said Kodachrome has been one of the more out-of-the-way state parks because accessibility has sometimes been limited by rainstorms. When storms occur, it has been impossible to cross the river for short periods.
The road to Kodachrome will be open during the bridge and road construction.
The 24-foot wide highway will be surfaced with an enzyme material that has proven successful in other areas of the state. The park superintendent said it is less costly than some other materials so it stretches the paving budget.
A contract was awarded to Hall Brothers Construction of Hurricane, Washington County, for $1.4 million, which also includes a smaller project at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. The project engineer is Creamer and Noble of St. George.