“I want to brag about my staff and all the work they’ve been doing to make these projects happen,” said Cottonwood Heights Public Works Director Matt Shipp.

On Oct. 15, Shipp presented all of the recent happenings for the Public Works Department during his quarterly report to the city council. The Public Works team had laid 1,867,500 square feet of chip seal and 1,867,500 square feet of slurry seal throughout the year since the first of January. 

“Chip seals and slurry seals are rough processes when they go down,” Shipp said. “The travel is what smooths it out.” 

Shipp recounted how important it is for his Public Works crew to routinely lay down the chip and cape seals. The price for road maintenance per square foot averages about 90 cents to the dollar every seven-to-ten years. Fort Union Boulevard is about to hit that critical eight-year mark so it will be on the horizon for the Public Works team to chip seal within the next year. 

“We maintain these roads and it makes a huge difference,” Shipp said. 

If an area needs to be completely reconstructed, the price jumps to between $9-$10 per square foot of road. This is what happened with Prospector Drive over the summer. It needed a full reconstruction. This project included 17,800 yards of asphalt, 6,930 feet of curb and gutter, 7,900 feet of driveways and flatwork, and 10,150 of sidewalk replacement. 

“We have received a lot of positive feedback from the residents about the workers and contractors,” Shipp said. He thanks the residents for their patience as the reconstruction impacted their one-way in and out of the neighborhood. 

In addition to the Prospector Drive reconstruction, the Towne Drive project has been completed. The Towne Drive project included reconstruction of the roads along Towne Drive, Towne Circle, Canterbury Lane and Toni Circle. 

“We did a lot of stormwater work up there,” Shipp said. 

That work included 270 square feet of waterway improvements, 3,613 square feet of sidewalk replacement, 4,666 square feet of flatwork replacements, 3,921 feet of curb and gutter, and 7,335 square yards of asphalt. Part of that sidewalk replacement included a federal-aid project that connected Bengal Boulevard to Canterbury Lane on the east side of the road. 

The Public Works team also worked to repair the waterway lines and replace the sidewalks along Cory Hill Circle. Eight hundred and sixty-nine square yards of roadway had previously been experiencing chronic issues with roadway cracking, so that was all rehabilitated along with 134 feet of sidewalk and 207 feet of curb and gutter. 

“I’m sure the delivery drivers are extremely happy as well. They don’t have to pull their trucks out anymore,” Shipp said. 

Additional projects included a sidewalk being constructed along Bengal Boulevard up through 1700 East on the east side of the road. Creek Road received 27 new waterway inlets too along with 513 square feet of curb and gutter replacement. 

There was one emergency waterway repair along Supernal Drive that the Public Works team responded to as well. Through the repair work, the team found a waterline had broken about 15 feet down a few years prior so the water kept washing underneath the area. The ongoing water leak finally resulted in collapse and the yard being completely destroyed.

“The homeowner has been absolutely wonderful,” Shipp said. 

The Public Works team has been working to construct sidewalks throughout the roads of Cottonwood Heights as well. One of those crosswalks received a lot of news attention toward the end of the summer as a new HAWK Crosswalk was unveiled in front of Bella Vista Elementary School at Nye Drive along Fort Union Boulevard. 

A raised crosswalk has been constructed and implemented along Banbury Road in front of Bywater Park (3149 Banbury Road). The crosswalk includes rapid reflecting flashing (RRF) lights and planted trees within constructed tree wells in the middle of the crosswalk. The chosen trees should grow high enough and then out to allow for a canopy-lined street. 

“We want tree-lined streets,” praised Councilmember Suzanne Hyland.