SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Department of Transportation crews worked overnight to repair a pothole so large on I-15, it closed lanes on a bridge near 800 South.
The hole was two by three feet and went all the way through the overpass.
“It happened fast. It was something we wanted to address right away to prevent any damage to vehicles.”
An inspection of the bridge found nothing last summer. UDOT spokesperson John Gleason said it didn’t take long for the wet winter to leave its mark.
“These are some of the results that you can see from time to time in terms of potholes and erosion and bridges,” Gleason said.
In Salt Lake City, engineers prepare for several road projects in the next few weeks.
A study found two-thirds of city roads were in poor or worse condition.
“We are trying to get our roads to fair condition. We are working on it,” said Salt Lake City engineer Matthew Cassel.
Cassel said the biggest project in 2019 will be 2700 South, which receives the largest number of complaints by drivers.
Next year will become even busier for crews after Salt Lake voters approved a $87 million bond in November. A major project funded by the bond will be 300 West, according to Cassel.
A sales tax increase also allowed the city to bring on another maintenance crew in 2019.
“Once we reconstruct and rebuild the street, we have a second crew to be able to get on it sooner to make sure that it stays in good shape,” Cassel said.
Cassel admits it will take $200 million to get all roads up to “fair” condition.
