The four-mile segment has been under construction since this past summer and was scheduled to be completed in late 2006. That completion date was recently pushed back to early 2007, he said, but it had nothing to do with the concrete structure failure Monday.

"There has been additional work we've had to do in order to build the highway," Dupaix said, "and the wet spring that we had pushed back some of the excavation."

The bulk of the project's $55 million price tag is covered by Centennial Highway Funds, an allocation of state and federal money for use in building capacity-driven transportation projects.

Crews have been excavating two sections in the canyon — one on the west side of the project, called the west cut, and the other near Deer Creek Dam, the east cut.

The new highway alignment will split at the west cut, with the down-canyon lanes being raised about 30 feet higher than the up-canyon lanes between the west end of the project and the curve known as Horseshoe Bend, Dupaix explained.

At the east cut, crews have been excavating a section of the mountainside, with the high point being about 200 feet, he said. That section of new highway will remain at its current elevation.

Work at the east cut has led to overnight closures of U.S. 189 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday-Friday. Those closures have been put on hold during the holiday season and will resume Tuesday.

The new Heber Valley Railroad overpass is "substantially complete," Dupaix said. The concrete deck has been poured, and crews are working on the embankments leading up to the bridge.

"Instead of the road crossing underneath the Heber Valley Railroad, now the highway will go over the top of the railroad," he said.

The 550-feet-long, 90-feet-high bridge over the spillway will eliminate the two sharp curves in the area of Deer Creek Dam and allow motorists to travel at a more consistent speed, Dupaix said.

UDOT will also install an anti-icing system on the bridge, similar to the one used on I-215 at Knudsen's Corner near 6200 South.

"You'll have a lot of wind, and bridges tend to ice up," Dupaix said. "By putting in that anti-icing system, it allows the water to run off so it doesn't freeze. It lowers the freezing temperature of any ice."

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E-mail: jpage@desnews.com