Nielson Construction commenced work this week on a 3-month project that will cover 4.4 miles of Highway 10, stretching from State Farm Road to Kilfoyle Crafts. In order to ensure that normal traffic is not impeded, most of the work will be done at night, between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
The decision to do most of the work at night will eliminate lane closures during the daytime hours. In fact, Public Information Officer and Safety Manager James Davis said Nielson Construction has “no plans” to conduct any lane closures during the day. Were the company to do so, the Utah Department of Transportation would charge them a large fee.
The nighttime job is one of the first for Neilson Construction on a UDOT project.
UDOT Field Engineer Brent Hadfield explained that the project includes three major improvements: a total upgrade of the intersection around Ridge Road including turning lanes, deceleration lanes, and acceleration lanes; the addition of a northbound passing lane between 5200 South and Ridge Road; and an asphalt overlay of the entire project, excluding the area that was done last year.
Because of the scale of the project and the unconventional nighttime construction, Nielson Construction and UDOT conductedВ an open house at the Price Holiday Inn on Thursday to address any concerns locals may have.
Hadfield and Davis welcomed citizens and addressed concerns about nighttime noise, the length of the project, whether the project included widening the road from Ridge Road into Price, and more.
Davis explained that the decision to do the work at night would serve to eliminate daytime lane closures, but the company understood that with that decision came the issue of nighttime noise. “It’s not really something we can quantify,” he said, but assured that they would complete the loudest projects as quickly as possible.
“We’re part of the community,” Davis said. “We want to get the job done as quickly and as professionally as possible. While it might be a little bit of an inconvenience to do the job at night, it will probably have less impact.”
Neilson Construction is currently working on culverts and excavation for the passing lane near Ridge Road. After completing work on the intersection and passing lane, they plan to do the asphalt overlay on the entire project, with work being completed by the first part of September.