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Construction snafus on Landmark Drive

Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff

Construction has only begun and officials have already received an earful from drivers irked by delays on gridlocked Landmark Drive.

"We had a little traffic snafu," Summit County Engineer Derrick Radke explained about workers closing off multiple lanes so pavement could be worked on last week.

More confusion ensued when the contractor, Staker and Parson Companies ripped up sensors that control traffic lights at heavily congested Kimball Junction.

"It was bad to start first thing in the morning We heard about it from merchants," Radke said about the mix up. "We think that issue is resolved."

Crews are installing a roundabout west of the Sheldon Richins Building and realigning Landmark Drive through the existing Walmart parking lot. The new stretch of road will connect to the existing Landmark Drive northwest of Arby’s near the Best Western hotel. Arby’s customers will still use part of the old road, which will be left in front of the store to access the restaurant.

A traffic signal at Kimball Junction was damaged this week for about 90 minutes as a crew worked on Landmark Drive.

Kimball Junction stakeholders will meet Aug. 5 with county officials and the contractor to discuss concerns, Radke said.

"We are supposed to meet once a month to grade the contractor on their performance," Radke said.

Delays have seen motorists wait at Walmart for 45 minutes before they could pull onto Landmark Drive, Radke said.

"People were not letting people take lefts, they were not letting people take rights," Radke said. "We hope people will be patient I know it will be painful, but we will do our best."

Delays from the project also cause cars to back up on State Road 224 while waiting to turn onto Landmark Drive. The contractor has about 80 days to complete the project and is rushing to pave the road by October.

Completing the project will cost almost $8 million, according to Radke.

"I think [the contractor] will do a better job," Radke said at the weekly meeting Wednesday of the Summit County Commission in Coalville. "We will continue to monitor it."

Officials say expanding Landmark Drive from two lanes to four will help establish more efficient traffic patterns in the Snyderville Basin.

"We’re very aware of the traffic situation in the area," Summit County Commissioner Bob Richer said about the intersection at Landmark and State Road 224. "We’re going to have two left lanes, two right lanes and a through lane, [and] one of the reasons we chose this alternative is because we are going to have a lot of stacking."

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