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Show VERNAL'S MAIN STREET once a hussle-bussle busy thoroughfare now has a quite vacant feeling feel-ing and appearance. The road surface has been Traffic and economic problems created by the closure of Vernal's Main Street and establishing new detour routes were discussed Friday noon by the Transportation Committee of the Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce. Attending the meeting were John Keyes, project engineer, Utah Department of Transportation and Lee Hansen project superintendent for J.M. Sumsion & Sons, contractor for the Main Street job. Vernal City Manager, Shane Luck, gave a report on the project saying the curb and gutters, sidewalks, lighting, water and sewer lines would all be contracted out by Vernal City. The UDOT is responsible for the highway reconstruction and surfacing. Luck reported that the 8-inch water line on the north side of the street has been completed. A sewer line will now be plowed up and the semaphore traffic lights removed. The intersection ahead is Vernal Avenue. Mooed Sftiroeft pir e2TD!fifi)k. pmbDosirDS constructed trom East Main Street to the Halliburton oil service center. The beautification portion of the project will be last, said Luck. Two-foot brick strips with iron grates for trees, spaced next to the curb, will line the street from 1st East to 1st West. The sidewalk and curb renewal will be done by the road contractor. All the curb along the south side of the street will be torn out in order to replace the irrigation ditch underneath. On the north side of the street only the curb and sidewalk that needs to be replaced will be torn up. The problems merchants were having by being blocked off and circumvented cir-cumvented by tourist travel were discussed at the chamber transportation tran-sportation meeting, also attended by many businessmen. The main business problem was reported to be the detouring of all traffic on U.S. 40 from 5th South to 5th East and from 10th to 7th West where no road construction is planned. It was also pointed out that the tourist traffic was bypassing Vernal by taking the south detour route through town because this route was designated as U.S. 40 detour and the North route was signed as a U-44 detour. It wassuggested that the 1st South and 1st North routes be equally designated as U.S. 40 detours. The problem of intersection traffic controls was another item of concern discussed at the transportation meeting. It was suggested that portable semaphores be brought in for the four intersections at Vernal Avenue and 5th West or that 3-way stops be made 4-way stops. |
