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Kim Johnson ReportingPark City businesses are hoping for a "greener" Christmas now that all lanes are back open on I-80. Those potholes have managed to poke holes in holiday profits.
Those pesky potholes and UDOT's 10-day effort to repair them couldn't have come at a worse time for Park City businesses.
Dana Williams, Mayor of Park City: "It's hard in a town where we basically have two to three months for businesses to be successful and when we lose two or three weekends, it's very hard on us."
A UDOT spokesman says the agency called in emergency crews to get the job done fast.
Brent Wilhite, Utah Dept. of Transportation: "We realize construction is something that's never easy to deal with. Nobody wants to drive through construction. This was an emergency situation where we tried to minimize the impact as much as possible. Get in and get out."
Even though crews got out after 10 days, the construction managed to divert valley shoppers elsewhere. The parking lot at the outlet stores was anything but crowded.
Dana Williams: "At this time of year before the tourist crunch gets here, we really rely on the valley for both skier days and Christmas sales. And so I've heard from a lot of businesses both in the basin and here in the city that things are just off, and skier days are down."
Ken Davis, who owns the Java Cow and heads up an alliance of main street businesses, says the potholes have hurt.
Ken Davis, Owner, Java Cow: "We were anticipating seeing a lot of people from Salt Lake coming up, which at the moment, we are seeing some, but not nearly what we hoped for."
It's smooth sailing on I-80 now. UDOT crews finished repairing potholes on the westbound lanes over the weekend and the eastbound lanes yesterday. Businesses are hoping between now and Christmas, the Salt Lake crowd will pay them a visit.
Dana Williams: "Come back, please come back."
