U.S. 40 SEGMENT DESIGNED TO SKIRT DAM TAKES SHAPE

A major new part of U.S. 40 between Park City and Midway, Wasatch County, is taking shape as construction companies cut and fill for a roadbed to skirt what will become Jordanelle Dam and its reservoir.

The view from many points of the $50 million highway will be spectacular, engineers say, and at one point, drivers will be able to see both Jordanelle and Deer Creek reservoirs.Some 16 million cubic yards of earth are being moved as the roadbuilders aim for a Sept. 30, 1989, opening.

"Traffic will be on it (by the deadline) even if it's only still gravel," vowed project engineer John Keyes.

The road perches on the west hillside away from view of travelers at lower elevations on U.S. 40 between the Park City turnoff (U-248) and the turnoff to Midway.

When completed, the highway will meet Interstate standards, but until as late as 1992 it will have to be used as a wide, two-lane road. The Bureau of Reclamation, which is paying for the road and two highway links to Kamas, Summit County, cannot get funding to complete the job by 1989. Central Utah Project water users will ultimately pay off the projects.

So all traffic will use the westbound lanes at first, while eastbound lanes are built.