A new traffic light will ease headaches for drivers coming into Park City from outside of town.
The light is at the intersection of Highway 248 and Richardson Flat Road, east of the hospital.
Before it started showing red, yellow and green signals Tuesday morning, it was a difficult place for some drivers to join the highway. That’s why Park City Deputy City Manager David Everitt says the city and the Utah Department of Transportation decided to put it there.
“I think this is an intersection that people have recognized over the years has been a real point of congestion for people trying to access State Road 248 there off Richardson Flat, particularly turning left going into Park City. You see people kind of merging into that middle lane and then trying to merge further into traffic headed westbound,” he says.
A traffic study led UDOT not only to recommend the light, but also to pay for it.
It’s also in anticipation of continued growth in the Quinn’s Junction and Richardson Flat area.
“Given the residential growth we’ve seen at Park City Heights and further to the east, the signal’s been deemed to be warranted there to help with the flow of traffic,” Everitt says.
Park City Engineer John Robertson says the study was specific to the Park City Heights neighborhood, and the project has been in the works for years.