Starting one week from today Deseret Peak Complex will swell in population for four days and become as large as the city of Centerville, Utah.
Country Explosion, which bills itself as Utah’s largest music festival and features Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Florida Georgia Line and other country music performers, opens at Deseret Peak Complex on July 17 and runs through July 20.
While some concert goers will camp out at Deseret Peak, either in tents or RVs, many of the anticipated 15,000 daily guests will arrive each day by car.
Getting that many people in and out of Deseret Peak daily creates some unique challenges that will affect the normal flow of traffic through Tooele County, according to Bucky Whitehouse, Tooele County emergency services director.
“In order to facilitate the orderly exit of people from Deseret Peak, each night of Country Explosion, state Route 112 will be closed from 10:30 p.m. until at least midnight and possibly as late as 2 a.m.,” said Whitehouse.
SR-112 will become a two-lane, one-way road out of Deseret Peak headed west toward Grantsville and east to the junction of SR-112 and 1000 North near Tooele, according to a press release from Country Explosion’s organizers.
A temporary parking lot has been constructed by Country Explosion south of SR-112 across the highway from Deseret Peak Complex.
The parking lot will be used by single-day festival attendees.
The closure of SR-112 each evening will speed the emptying of the parking lot and keep single-day festival goers from needing to dodge traffic on SR-112 as they make their way back to their vehicles.
“We apologize for the congestion that this traffic will cause, and hope the interruption for most residents at these hours are minimal,” said Country Explosion’s organizers in a press release.
“People trying to make their way between Grantsville and Tooele between 10:30 p.m. and up to 2 a.m. on the evenings of July 17-20 will need to find an alternate route,” Whitehouse said.
He added, “In general, during the days of the concert, people may find traffic on our streets a little more congested, and traffic on SR-112 by Deseret Peak may be stopped for short periods as people make their way from the parking lot to the complex.”
More information about Country Explosion, including tickets, can be found at www.countryexplosion.com