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Samantha Hayes ReportingAll over the state, road construction projects are being delayed, and for the most part, it all gets back to one common problem, an ingredient that's in high demand.
We last reported on this a couple of months ago when it was looking like asphalt shortages could be a problem. Now it has blossomed into a bigger problem and is causing delays in projects like one from I-215 to 2600 South. Same story on state roads and interstates in more than a dozen other locations.
The pot holes in Parley's Canyon created an obstacle course for vehicles last winter, but warm weather is not the only thing UDOT had to wait on.
Nile Easton, UDOT: "We'd love to get this thing done. We were 80% complete when the asphalt problem hit. Just waiting to finish that last 20%."
That's the word from contractors. Before the ramps on I-80 in Parley's canyon can be repaved with asphalt they are waiting on, construction equipment sits idle off the side of the interstate.
Nile Easton: "They come to us and say we are going to have to put it off for a while."
This project and 20 others all over the state are waiting. So far, these delays are not costing UDOT, and therefore the taxpayers, any extra money. UDOT is putting pressure on contractors to finish projects before the summer is out.
Asphalt contains oil and that's part of the reason for the complication. A federal government regulation on refineries changed production requirements. A fire in a Sinclair holding tank has also been slowing things up, according to contractors.
Nile Easton: "We send out bids for each project and contractors basically determine how they are going to get the asphalt, and just tell us they are going to get it done."
Most of the projects are delayed by a few weeks. If it's pushed back into the fall months, that's a bigger problem that could start to affect next year's construction schedule.
