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Park City drivers must prepare for significant delays in Prospector

Drivers whose route involves Prospector Avenue over the upcoming weekend should plan to leave early.

As major roadwork continues, City Hall has issued a caution that delays could be especially bad on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The crews are expected to mill the existing asphalt on Friday followed by repaving the road on Saturday and Sunday. The work will be some of the most significant over the months of the project, but it is also a signal that the completion date is approaching.

According to City Hall, Prospector Avenue will be restricted to local traffic over the weekend. Traffic delays could extend to 10 minutes since there will be additional work-related vehicles and equipment on Prospector Avenue. There will be flaggers directing traffic. City Hall also said driveways along Prospector Avenue could be closed for 10 minutes at a time. There could be “increased noise and vibration,” City Hall said in a flier detailing the planned weekend work.



One lane of traffic will remain open at all times.

The work from Friday until Sunday depends on the weather. Park City roadwork standards require temperatures at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and rising. However, since the project is partially federally funded, the crews are following the roadwork standards of the Utah Department of Transportation. The state department’s standards call for temperatures to be 50 degrees Fahrenheit and rising.



Corey Legge, the City Hall staff engineer assigned to the project, said officials are seeking approval from state transportation officials to use the municipal standards rather than the stricter ones used by the state.

“It’s all weather pending right now,” Legge said.

He said the contractor that will repave the road would prioritize Prospector Avenue should the work not be performed over the weekend based on temperatures.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday forecast a high temperature of 48 degrees on Friday, a high of 47 degrees on Saturday and a high of 42 degrees on Sunday.

The Prospector Avenue roadwork, stretching the length of the street, started in July and is anticipated to be complete in the middle of November. The project involves the new asphalt layer, new bus pullouts, new lighting and sidewalk improvements. The work is projected to cost a little less than $2 million.

The work has disrupted the traffic flow on an important route in and out of the Prospector business district and the Prospector neighborhood. There have been regular backups in the heavily restricted work zone. Some businesses along the Prospector Avenue corridor have complained about a steep drop in sales as a result of the roadwork.

The leader of the Prospector Square Property Owners Association, a business organization that has closely monitored the work, said October is the best time for the repaving and indicated there are not as many businesses open along the Prospector Avenue corridor over the weekend as there are during the workweek.

Craig Dennis, the executive director of the association, acknowledged there is “no good way around it.” He said the association encourages people to park in the Prospector Square lots on Sidewinder Drive and Bonanza Drive over the weekend.

“It’s going to be three days of pain followed by a much better street,” Dennis said.


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