Work is officially underway on the much-anticipated Uptown roadway improvements, and according to the company doing the work — so far, so good.
Jason Woods, project manager for Eagle Mountain Construction, gave a brief update to about a dozen merchants, members of the public and city employees on Monday, June 17, at the Cowboy Club. The informal meetings will be held throughout the project, which is slated to be completed in spring of next year.
“Things have gone really well,” he said after the update. “You can try and anticipate everything you possibly can in the planning stages but once a project like this starts, you often have to make adjustments as you go. Overall the traffic is flowing pretty well through here and now that the demolition is done, it will be a little quieter for the merchants on this side.”
Right now the work is focused on the two new roundabouts at State Route 89A and Jordan Road and one at the new Schnebly Road connector. These are set to be completed by early September. Woods said some merchants have expressed concerns early on in terms of noise or access to their businesses. But he said for the most part, the feedback has been positive.
He feels it’s important that Eagle Mountain keep a constant open line of communication with the public. They plan to have meetings every Monday morning at 9 a.m. The next will be on June 24 at Pink Jeep Java Cafe.
“I think they’re incredibly beneficial,” he said of the weekly updates. “You can give them an email update but that’s not very personable. Being able to answer their questions gives them a bit of comfort. That helps a lot. “Another thing is, in these informal settings, I think people are a little more open to asking questions than if it was in a formal one. And we want them to know that we’re here to help them out as much as possible.”
Aside from the roundabouts, additional project improvements include:
- An additional southbound lane along 89A within the project limits.
- A new connector road between 89A and free parking along Schnebly Road.
- Landscaped, decorative median along 89A through Uptown.
- Decorative median and extended sidewalk on the north side of Forest Road, between 89A and Van Deren Road.
Once finished, the city feels the project will improve traffic flow and safety, decrease delays and create more opportunities for pedestrian access to Uptown businesses.
“I think with projects like this, the anticipation is often much worse than reality,” Woods said. “I hope that’s been the case so far. In the end, we want to work with everybody.”
For more information on the project, visit simuptown. com.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
