Guest Post from Amy Wicks
I made the request to bump the canyon closure times to 10 pm and the attached document is the response I received from the Ogden City utility
manager who is one of the staff members assigned to oversee the
project.
On a related note, I am making contact with Horrocks on Monday to
discuss delays and travel times. I was stuck in Ogden Canyon for over an
hour and a half headed home to Ogden from Snowbasin on Friday...as were
many many others. I understand the snowy weather creates challenges,
but cars were moving eastbound so I'm curious why there was no westbound
movement. For almost an hour, It seemed as if the only westbound
movement was from vehicles inching forward as others were giving up and
turning around.
That type of delay is completely unacceptable and I will let you know
what I am able to find out. I am also interested in hearing from others
who have encountered problems traveling through Ogden Canyon so I can
try to work through the issues with the construction company and make
sure UDOT is aware of the problems as well, since they are the entity
granting permission for closures and delays.
You are welcome to post this on your blog as an effort to help keep the public aware of what is going on.
Amy Wicks
Ogden City Council
At Large Seat C
Click here to read the response for the Ogden City Utility Manager
Thanks Amy!!! I'd really like to know the reason why the change of how they go about the work ...I understand the "unforeseen conditions" rational, but what was the "unforeseen condition"? The devil advocate in me senses that the closures were all part of the the plan, but that they didn't want to bring it up early on for fear of the backlash...and now the "unforeseen" conditions is the scapegoat to just do it...I think the public deserves some answers on this issue alone...also what are the cost implications of this change in process...either plus or minus....Last Friday was ridiculous for sure!
ReplyDeleteOh...I see in the letter what the unforeseen conditions were...:they discovered boulders lying on or near the pipeline...really...no kidding....boulders in Ogden Canyon?...oh what a surprise! They didn't do any test pits during their engineering analysis or borings and see that? They didn't look into the Ogden River and see boulders all over the riverbed?
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for some answers. I mentioned the wait and explained the situation I encountered on Friday to Mayor Caldwell and he seemed very concerned. I have also had a discussion about what happened with the UDOT engineer who issued the permit for the project that allows for closures and delays.
ReplyDeleteI will keep you posted. The public deserves transparency with this.
It's my understanding that the "unforeseen conditions" would be boulders surrounding the existing pipe instead of the expected road base and the inability to use pipe bursting technology because of this. The equipment used for pipe bursting costs about $200,000 a month. That type of money can dig and pave over a lot of trenches. I've also heard that heaving of the road surface was another issue that came up with use of pipe bursting technology.
"Unforeseen"? As smartguy posted in more open plain terms.... What did they expect there was going be under the road? Gold? There should be some concern, with this "pipe bursting" method that when they get to the more narrow parts of the roadway, or on the side close to the road, that it blows out the side into the river. (We put a man on the moon. Get real!) Could it be that we under bid said project? I'm sure there is a disclaimer in the contract to cover all of these "unforeseen" issues Sorry for your 1 1/2 hour wait. You must of been at the end of the line. Mine was 2 1/2 hours. This just wreaks of the same things that happen to Ogden Valley residents. Ogden marathon blocks out most of the valley, at our expense. Doesn't Ogden City have enough roadway there for their activities? Ogden City needs a pipe line improvement and who suffers with no compensation? Ogden Valley residents. In that 2 1/2 hour I couldn't help but wonder the "what ifs" IE Poor soul that has a heart attack and needs to get medical PDQ.
ReplyDelete