Motorists can expect minor delays on Tooele City Main Street for the next two weeks while crews complete a microsurfacing project from 2000 North to 3 O’Clock Drive.
“The microsurface is applied as a liquid and requires approximately one to two hours to solidify before the surface is ready for traffic,” said Zach Whitney, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation.
“During this time, access to driveways and sidestreets will be temporarily restricted,” he said. “Specific driveway closure notices will not be given. However, work in the outside lanes near driveways will occur on Sundays only.”
Whitney said after the micorsurfacing, work crews will make drainage improvements and install permanent lane striping. That work will take place seven days a week from dawn to dusk, he said.
A UDOT announcement said businesses will be open during construction, and motorists are encouraged to use alternative routes when traveling in order to get to their destinations faster.
Whitney said microsurfacing is a mixture of asphalt and other products applied in a thin layer to the top of the road and is less than 1-inch thick.
“It’s similar to a slurry seal that is often applied to parking lots and residential streets,” he said. “The main purpose is to protect the underlying asphalt and extend the life of the road. Intermountain Slurry Seal is the contractor on the project.
“Technically there are two types of mixtures, often referred to as flexible and conventional micosurfacing,” Whitney added. “We typically apply a flexible microsurface as it holds up better in the winter with the plows.”
The UDOT spokesman said microsurfacing could have been done last year, but the process is often scheduled a year or two after a repaving project is completed. He said the work is not “imperative, but one that is beneficial.”
The entire width of Main Street from 2000 North to 3 O’Clock Drive is scheduled to receive microsurfacing, Whitney said.
UDOT completed a $25.5 million project upgrading Tooele’s Main Street in the spring of 2016. The project, which began in Spring 2015, included rebuilding the roadbase and numerous other improvements.
Final stages of the work included placing two layers of asphalt from 2000 North to 3 O’Clock Drive. The phase also included replacing concrete curbs and gutters, residential and commercial driveways, and restoring landscaping removed during construction, according to Jessica Rice, UDOT manager for the project.
Another UDOT construction project will affect Tooele commuters who use state Route 201, Whitney said.
“We began shoulder barrier improvements along state Route 201 between Bangerter Highway and 5600 West last week,” he said. “Commuters can expect one outside lane in each direction to be closed as crews work along the shoulder. Work will begin as early as Monday and occur daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October.
UDOT is widening SR-201 in Magna to add a turning lane from westbound SR-201 onto southbound state Route 111, as well as an auxiliary lane from SR-111 to 8000 West. As part of the project, UDOT will reduce SR-201 to one lane in each direction beginning as early as today through late October as follows:
• Eastbound SR-201 traffic will be shifted to the inside lane between 9200 West and 8000 West. Drivers turning from northbound SR-111 onto eastbound SR-201 will have a longer distance before being required to merge with SR-201 traffic.
• Westbound SR-201 traffic will be shifted into the outside lane from 8000 West to 8400 West.
The new lane restriction will make the road safer for drivers and workers, but will also result in increased congestion and delays, according to UDOT. Drivers traveling from Tooele County to Salt Lake Valley should plan extra travel time, especially during the morning and evening commute, and consider using I-80 as an alternate route.