Cones likely to remain on Uintah a few more weeks

Cones likely to remain on Uintah for a few more weeks

The Uintah Street sidewalk/bike lane project has been nearly complete for about a month now, and it could stay nearly complete for awhile.

A westbound pedestrian uses the recently laid sidewalk on the north side of Uintah Street. Photo also shows some of the cones that the contractor has left to mark the separation between the new westbound bike lane and the right-hand traffic lane.

Westside Pioneer photo

The $375,000 project featured a widening of the north side of Uintah between Mesa Road and Walnut Street, making room for a sidewalk and bike lanes on either side. All four lanes are open, as well as the sidewalk. Traffic cones mark the line between the new westbound bike lane and the right lane of traffic on the four-lane road.
       Mike Chaves of City Engineering said this week that what remains to be done is lane striping. He said the contractor, Blue Ridge Construction, should get that done “in the next month or so.”
       Part of the constraint is that when the project started, the contract called for temporary striping on the north/westbound side of the street, where the work took place. However, the city decided later that striping was needed for both sides, because the widening left more room than initially anticipated, including room to mark a bike lane on the south/eastbound side. So the contractor needs to find time to schedule in that work, Chaves explained.
       Another factor is the weather. Temperatures need to be above 50 for at least a week to allow the striping to be accomplished, he said.
       In addition, the crossings at Uintah's intersection with Mesa Road need to be marked. This is a different process, requiring a hot-applied thermoplastic coating, he said.

Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 2/13/14)

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