HANNA, Duchesne County -- Work on the $25 million Wolf Creek Pass project won't be complete for at least two more years.
But a good portion of the ambitious road improvement will be done this summer as crews lay gravel and asphalt along a 16-mile stretch of the road.It was 1993 when an extensive effort began to remodel and improve the scenic and rugged mountain pass that runs through west Duchesne County and east Summit County.
Work was expected to be completed in 1998 or this year, but Kim Martin, Uinta National Forest Service spokesperson, says weather conditions, the project's complicated design and a landslide three years ago have pushed the date back to 2001.
Granite Construction, out of Salt Lake, won the bid to do the asphalt work for about $4 million. The paving will take place from the west side of the road near Nobletts in Summit County to the east side near the Forest Service boundary in Duchesne County.
Heavy snowpack over the winter months and a cold spring have delayed work crews from accessing the pass, but conditions have now cleared up enough to open up the pass and bring in surveying equipment and heavy machinery.
The Wolf Creek Pass project begins five miles northwest of Hanna in Duchesne County and ends six miles east of Woodland in Summit County. The road improvement project will turn the 23-mile stretch of rugged mountain road into a year-round accessible highway, and provide a more direct and safer route for travel.
There will be delays this summer for those who want to travel over the pass, Martin said.
The work is expected to wrap up by Sept. 12.
Wolf Creek Pass was nominated in 1982 for funding through the National Forest Highway program.
Last summer road crews reconstructed the bridge near the Stockmore Ranger Station on the Duchesne County side and did some paving. Work crews on the west side spent last summer stabilizing a 3-year-old landslide site.
Next year, Martin says, more construction work will take place on the east side of the pass and will include excavating, widening, grading and surfacing.
The Wolf Creek Pass project is a joint effort of the U.S. Forest Service, Federal Highways and the Utah Department of Transportation. Its price tag, which is running more than $25 million, is being funded by the federal government. Once it's completed, UDOT will maintain the road and have jurisdiction over it.