UDOT continues work to clear mountain passes for summer

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — UDOT crews have been working for weeks to clear Guardsman Pass to get it ready for the summer season.

The Cottonwood road crew has made it all the way up to the top of the pass, but said that there’s still a lot of work to be done to clear the road. Griffin Youngren with the Cottonwood road crew said they’re cutting through 10 to 15-foot drifts to get the road clear.

“It’s a slow process,” Youngren said. “We have to work through a little bit at a time, and then let it melt off a little bit at a time.”

This process can have its own challenges as well, such as equipment breaking down or massive snowblowers getting stuck — snowblowers that can cut through five to ten feet of snow fairly easily. Now that UDOT crews have reached the summit, spokesperson John Gleason said Wasatch County crews will continue work on the other side.

“It’s not just about plowing the road, but it’s all of the maintenance activities that go into opening the pass again,” Gleason says. “We work with Wasatch County and Park City to get the other side cleared as well.”

With work on the other side being completed, crews are aiming to open Guardsman Pass around Memorial Day weekend.