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Two more westbound bridges along I-80 through Parley's Canyon are in place, and it took crews less than 24 hours to get the job done. The road work may have caused an inconvenience for some, but others took advantage of it.
Many of the vehicles traveling through Provo Canyon today were not there by choice. It's one of a few detours for this weekend's Parley's Canyon closure.
"It seems like everybody's been very aware of what's going on," said Adan Carrillo, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).
Saturday afternoon, UDOT crews began replacing two I-80 bridges at East and Lamb's canyons. "We have a great team of designers and engineers who are working almost 24/7," Carrillo said.
About midday today, at the Mountain Dell exit, you could see the old bridge had already been taken out, and the new bridge was already in place. Workers spent the rest of the afternoon putting the finishing touches on it.
Meanwhile, just up the road in Park City, retailers tried to take advantage of the situation. "These two weekends in particular, we're really hoping that people are excited about getting stranded up here," said Jewels Harrison, co-creator of the Park Silly Sunday Market.
Local businesses and the Park Silly Sunday Market are keeping people in town with discount shopping. "Our vendors, of course, are all doing some extra bonus sales," Harrison said.
You can also find fully-equipped condos at a great rate. "Seventy dollars off per night, as well as the two bedrooms about the same," said Jana Potter, owner of the Silver Queen Hotel.
But as bridge replacement means economic opportunity for Park City, UDOT just hopes to make a major fix with minimal impact.
Already this summer, nine new I-80 bridges are complete and on schedule.
UDOT actually opened the westbound lanes nearly a couple hours ahead of schedule today. Next weekend, the eastbound lanes through Parley's Canyon will be closed for more bridge replacement. Park City plans to offer discounts then as well.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
