While the Utah Department of Transportation fiddles with an affordable design for the second phase of U.S. 189 reconstruction through Provo Canyon, plans for the third phase are in gear.
For the next year, Centennial Engineering Inc., Murray, will lead a team to develop preliminary proposals for a 5-mile stretch of road between the Sundance turnoff and Deer Creek State Park. The estimated cost is a whopping $50 million.According to a 1989 supplemental environmental impact statement, the preferred plan is a four-lane highway and five bridges crossing Provo River at various points. The existing 30-mph curve at Horseshoe Bend would be bypassed with two bridges spanning the river. The supplemental statement also places two bridges near Canyon Meadows on Hoover Slide, an active earth-movement area.
Because the supplemental impact statement is nearly 5 years old, federal regulations require it be re-evaluated. Centennial engineer Michael L. Stroud said some of the bridges could be eliminated during the review.
"We're looking at alternatives hopefully to reduce impacts," he said.
A citizens design advisory committee has met since February to discuss the project. Public workshops on the plans are scheduled for April 27 in Heber City and April 28 in Orem.
Construction could begin as early as spring 1996, Stroud said.
But if previous Provo Canyon projects are an indication, that's ambitious. The phase from Upper Falls to just beyond the Sundance turnoff of U-92, once slated to start in May, is at least a year away, said Kim Morris, UDOT spokesman. "Provo Canyon has a schedule of its own regardless of the schedule we set for it."
Cost is holding up the second phase. The current plan has three tunnels, two hillside cuts and a retaining wall. Price tag: $49 million.
"It may be an unwise use of state transportation funds to spend $49 million for 11/2 miles of road," said W. Craig Zwick, UDOT executive director. UDOT has set aside $25 million. It would settle for a project costing somewhere in the middle.
UDOT is looking at other options, including paring the four-lane proposal to two or three lanes, Zwick said. Centennial Engineering, the company designing the third phase, is conducting traffic studies to determine whether fewer than four lanes is feasible, Stroud said.
"For safety reasons we prefer four lanes, but we're aware of the sensitivity of that river," Zwick said.
It was possible adverse impact on Provo River, a blue-ribbon trout fishery, that prompted UDOT to heed outdoor organizations' and other government agencies' call for tunnels. UDOT originally favored a plan featuring a bridge crossing the river twice for eastbound traffic and two tunnels for westbound traffic.
"A bridge design saves a lot of money, but it was unpopular," Zwick said.
But that doesn't mean it's dead. Zwick suggested a compromise might be possible involving a bridge and tunnels.
That's likely to raise the ire of environmental groups and organizations that fought for the tunnel design last year.
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Additional Information
2 workshops
Public workshops for design of U.S. 189 in Provo Canyon from the Sundance turnoff (U-92) to Deer Creek State Park:
Wednesday, April 27, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Senior Citizens Center, 90 N. 100 West, Heber City. Thursday, April 28, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., Orem Elementary School, 500 W. 400 South, Orem
Participants may view displays, discuss design options and environmental concerns and make oral or written comments.