TOOELE — We know Utah's lack of snow is hurting the state's water supply, but it's doing the opposite for road-construction projects. The Utah Department of Transportation has started its spring and summer road repairs, which wouldn't normally begin this early in the year.
The silver lining to a lack of snow is that road crews are getting an early jump on repair projects. They'd otherwise be doing the same repairs in the blistering heat of summer.
Within the last week, UDOT Region 2 maintenance crews were in Tooele repaving a beat-up stretch of Interstate 80 at the Midvalley Highway turnoff. It's the first of 15 repaving projects for the spring and summer that teams are already working on.
KSL caught up with crews as they laid down 600 tons of new asphalt for the freeway.
"It's more of an opportunity for us to go out and fix some of the minor stuff, right? Be a little bit more proactive and getting out there earlier before the summer months," said Kylar Sharp, UDOT Region 2 senior communications manager.
As KSL reported in February, UDOT had already dedicated 71,000 work hours to road maintenance projects that typically wouldn't begin for another few months. It's letting crews move ahead to these spring/summer projects like road repaving.
The early start doesn't eliminate road risks for crews, who often spend all day at a project site. They're asking drivers to be careful around the workers in the construction zones across the state.
