OREM -- Most everyone wants the second phase of the Provo Canyon Highway project completed and the road safer to travel.
Motorists and transportation officials are equally anxious to get steep cuts along U.S. 189 in Provo Canyon stabilized, median barriers in place and remove temporary fencing used to keep rocks from tumbling onto the roadway. But completing such work in a pristine setting like Provo Canyon is not a simple task. Aesthetic and environmental concerns must be considered along with the Utah Department of Transportation's engineering and safety goals.Also, the original plan has changed -- which means more study and more public input is needed before work can move forward.
"We have a process we need to go through first, but we're optimistic that we can get some work going this year," said UDOT Region 3 project manager Dan Nelson.
Had the original plan been completed, the slope stabilization on a two-mile stretch between Vivian Park and Wildwood would be done and median barriers installed. But UDOT fired the project's contractor before the work was complete in a dispute over how the work should be done.
Even though it's caused at least a year's delay in completion of the project, tossing the contractor off the job now appears to be a blessing in disguise. UDOT officials say they now have a better understanding of the canyon's geology and more safety data pertaining to the new highway.
Instead of using guardrail to divide traffic lanes as called for in the original plan, UDOT now wants to install safer concrete barriers in some of the canyon's steeper and more narrow locations. In the past four years there have been about 60 serious accidents in the canyon, many of them head-ons that the guardrail failed to prevent.
"We've had a lot more safety problems than we expected," Nelson said. "In areas where there are these safety concerns, we want to make sure we can keep the traffic separated."
The rusted guardrail was an environmental concession made in the original approval process. In most canyon locations, the guardrail is still considered adequate. However, traffic engineers say the concrete barriers are simply much safer in some areas. They will prevent most head-on collisions and rollovers and will have a better chance of keeping crashing vehicles from dumping cargo into the Provo River.
To use concrete barriers, however, UDOT must first amend the plan approved by the Federal Highway Administration. The first step in that process is taking public comment, which began Thursday night at a hearing at Canyon View Junior High School in Orem. UDOT then must submit a resolution for amendment to the federal government for approval.
Only a few dozen people attended Thursday's hearing, and most favored the stronger barriers. However, two weeks remain in the public comment period, and environmentalists could still come forward with strong opposition to the plan. UDOT is hoping to have an amendment approved by summer so it can begin installing the barriers as money becomes available.
"If we don't get a lot of public opposition, we're going to push this through for an amendment," Nelson said. "If the public is telling us that we need to rethink this, then maybe there is something we have missed here."
Engineers are also revamping their plan to stabilize the steep mountain cuts, some as high as 60 feet, near the two new tunnels east of the Sundance turnoff. Some sections of rock behind the cuts are more fractured than engineers expected. Also, some sections of hillside are more saturated than predicted.
In areas where the rock is fractured, the cuts will be stabilized with shotcrete, a dark gray mixture of cement and aggregate that is held in place with long rock bolts. A thin layer of shotcrete is in place now to temporarily stabilize the cuts until the permanent layer can be installed. The final application of shotcrete will be 9 to 12 inches thick, compared to the 4-inch layer now in place.
In sections where moisture is a problem, the cuts will be stabilized with cast-in-place concrete walls because shotcrete does not withstand moisture well.
"We're trying to find the right balance of what we are going to put in there," Nelson said.
The stabilization changes don't have to go through the pubic approval process, but UDOT officials want the public to understand the need for using both techniques.
Final engineering and design work should be completed in the next few months and the project put out to bid by late summer.
In the meantime, Nelson said engineers are confident the temporary stabilization will keep the highway safe until permanent work is completed.
Those wishing to comment on the proposals can send e-mail to dnelson@dot.state.ut.us or write to Nelson at 825 N. 900 West in Orem, 84057.
You can reach Jim Rayburn by e-mail at jimr@desnews.com