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OGDEN -- The many highway construction projects underway in Utah present motorists with inconveniences at times, with narrowed lanes, closed ramps and slow-moving trucks. But there's a project underway in Ogden right now that drivers probably don't even notice.
Thanks to a conveyor system, workers at the construction site don't have to use giant trucks to haul their dirt. The conveyor transports tons of fill material that will be used to extend Ogden's Hinckley Drive from 1900 West to Midland Drive. It's a 1.1-mile project with a $15 million price tag.
"We figured that there were 14,000 loads that would have to come across there; there would be a truck crossing 1900 every minute and a half to two minutes," Hansen says.
So, Staker Parson, which is a subcontractor with Ralph Wadsworth Construction on this job, brought in the conveyor. From this pit, the dirt is loaded onto the belt system. From there, it's elevated above and over the top of 1900 West. Then it drops down onto another long stretch and crosses over the FrontRunner and Union Pacific tracks. Finally, it gets dumped into a big pile where it's needed.
"If it was some clay or something like that, we wouldn't have been able to use it," Hansen says. "This doesn't come along very often, where you have a material source that is close, where you can put a a conveyor and use it that like it is. It just doesn't happen."
There are other benefits to using the conveyor. By getting the big trucks off the road, the project is safer and there's less noise and air pollution. Staker Parson estimates that by keeping trucks off the roads, it prevents 414 tons of greenhouse gases from getting into the air.
The conveyor will complete its job by the end of the year; the entire project will be done next fall.
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com