For more than a century, this southwestern Utah town has been a switching station for Union Pacific. But those same trains that bring economic vitality to the area, also demanded patience from motorists forced to wait up to 30 minutes as trains lurched forward and backward, adding and subtracting rail cars.
"The train traffic was increasing, and delays to get across the tracks were becoming extreme," Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Myron Lee said Monday. "This was happening several times a day, but now drivers are no longer required to stop."
The new $5.5 million overpass - in the works for decades - has been carrying motorists over the creak and clang of the rail cars below since Saturday. It will be dedicated at a ceremony in late August.
"We still have a few cones to move and clean up to do," Lee said.
The project, which began a year ago, was built with a special infusion of money from the 2003 Legislature.
Rick Torgerson, UDOT projects manager for southwestern Utah, said the structure spans three existing tracks and leaves room for a fourth to be added.
The Utah builder, P and K Contractors, worked in conjunction with the railroad to coordinate construction.
"You get between 30 and 40 trains a day through there, so when you're swinging beams, you need some cooperation," Torgerson said. "Union Pacific was cooperative through the whole process. Everybody came together, including the town and the county, on a project that works."
