Orange cones, road closures and loud equipment. Construction season seems to last all year in Utah and has recently been particularly frustrating to residents south of BYU campus.
Provo City roadwork has created detours and discouraged drivers.
Shane Jones, principal engineer for Provo Water Resources, explained why some roads were torn up all summer long.
“Provo’s storm water division hired a contractor to put in a storm drain line from Center Street to 700 North on 700 East with a couple of lines going east and west,” Jones said.
Also adding to the detours is Central Utah Water Conservatory District’s large construction project to carry water from Strawberry Reservoir. So far it has gone through Center Street and through the tree streets east of BYU campus. Jones said they have finished the first phase which went from the south boundary of Provo to Seven Peaks.
For right now, most of what used to be the main problem near The Colony apartments, is completed and the barrels sticking up in the streets have disappeared.
However, more orange cones and barrels are on their way for next summer to complete the second phase, which will run from Seven Peaks up to the mouth of Provo Canyon. Jones said 900 East will be torn up and traffic reduced to two lanes. Some work on the second phase has begun on University Avenue and will continue through the winter.
Along with the major I-15 and Center Street construction, travel is affected by the building of a new recreational center and convention center in Provo. Work on the Roasted Artichoke and Nuskin’s building project have also caused detours.
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