The Park City Council recently approved a $173,000 construction contract to replace two pedestrian bridges on the Rail Trail.
Park City Trails and Open Space Manager Heinrich Deters said it’s time for the existing bridges to go.
“If you’ve been on the Rail Trail and gone across those bridges, you will know why they need to be replaced,” Deters said.
The state has managed the Rail Trail since the 1980s. Last year, Park City Municipal entered into an interlocal agreement with Utah State Parks to take over management of the three mile stretch of the trail between Bonanza Drive and Richardson Flat Road.
“When we assumed management of it last year, that was one of the concern areas because there are loose boards, there are bolts coming up,” Deters said. “We send the teams out and make sure that those are as safe as possible, but it got to a point where we just need to replace those.”
A Utah-based company will be building the new bridges. Deters said a separate contractor will be brought in to help with the installation. The Wag-On Trail, which runs parallel to the Rail Trail, will be used as a detour during construction.
“So we’ll be able to actually close that section of trail, divert people up onto that double track, and then bring them back around,” Deters said. “It won’t be paved, but I think the flow of the traffic is going to be pretty seamless.”
There’s not yet an exact date for when the bridges will be replaced, but Deters said they’re targeting late summer, early fall.
Summit County recently submitted a letter of intent to manage the other 25 miles of the Rail Trail, which runs all the way to Echo.
