CARBON COUNTY, Utah — A section of U.S. Highway 6 has been repaired and repaved less than a week after mudslides forced the rural road to shut down in both directions near mile marker 228 in Price Canyon.
“Traffic started running in the new pavement just before noon,” Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said Friday.
Vehicles are also allowed to travel 40 mph on the repaved road.
This comes after UDOT crews temporarily fixed a different section of the road by filling and leveling it with dirt within 24 hours of the mudslides on Sunday. Speeds were reduced on that stretch to 25 mph.
FOX 13 News asked Gleason about how that project was addressed and finished so quickly when they have other projects that can take years to complete.
He said the repairs made on Monday were short-term fixes, and they take less timing and planning to complete.
Timing played a role in their efficiency, too. According to Gleason, UDOT crews were already working on a box culvert project in the area to better handle stormwater runoff and debris.
“We had the contractor and our employees that were ready to go to work, and all of the materials, so we were ready to get on top of it really quickly,” Gleason explained.
He also attributes their speed to prior experience handling mudslides, avalanches and earthquakes in Utah.
While the repaved section of the road is open, the temporarily fixed section will be closed off to cars so the remainder of the culvert project can be finished.
Gleason anticipates the project and the entire repaving process of Highway 6 to be finished by mid-October.
