Top Stories Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Major project to start Sunday
The drive to Mantua and Cache Valley is going to get complicated beginning Sunday when UDOT gets underway with repaving US 89/91. Travelers will be limited to one lane of traffic in each direction from Brigham City to Sardine Summit.
Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) will begin repaving US 89/91 from Brigham City to Sardine Summit, on Sunday, May 20.
This project will involve the removal of the top layer of the roadway, and its replacement with a new asphalt surface. Crews will begin work near the east end of state Road 90 (200 South) in Brigham City and continue past Mantua to Sardine Summit. Construction will take place during both day and nighttime hours from Saturday at 7 p.m. through Friday at 12 p.m.
Crews will work in a "racetrack" fashion, with one lane of travel remaining open in each direction during construction activities. Recreational and area travelers can expect moderate to heavy traffic congestion during this project.
Roadway and safety improvements on US-89/91 will include asphalt removal and replacement, new lane markings, rumble strips and roadside delineators. Additionally, to facilitate the paving work, several ramps to and from US-89/91 will be closed for 24-hour periods. They include the Brigham City westbound off-ramp to SR-90 (200 South) on May 20; the eastbound on-ramp from SR-90 in Brigham City to US-89/91 on May 21; and the on- and off-ramps at Mantua on May 22-23. This project is scheduled to be completed by early September.
With congestion through the construction zone expected, motorists with time-sensitive travel and truck traffic is encouraged to consider using SR-30 via I-15 at Riverside, as an alternate to US-89/91 over Sardine Summit. Closed lanes will be preceded by electronic signs indicating the closure ahead and directing traffic to move into the open lanes.
Flaggers will be present throughout the construction zone, so motorists should reduce speeds and be prepared to stop at any time, particularly when nearing the construction vehicle turn-around at Sardine Summit.
For more information about this project, please contact the project team at US-91Canyon@utah.gov, or by calling 888-556-0232. This telephone number is available 24-hours per day. Dates and times are subject to change, and work may be postponed or rescheduled due to inclement weather, cooler than required temperatures, equipment availability or other issues.
ATK's Liberty system complete, potential for crewed flight in 2015
ATK announced last week that it has developed Liberty into a complete commercial crew transportation system, including the spacecraft, abort system, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations. It is designed from inception to meet NASA's human-rating requirements with a potential for the first test flight in 2014 and Liberty crewed flight in 2015. The company also announced Lockheed Martin will provide support to the ATK and Astrium Liberty team as a major subcontractor on the project.
"Our goal in providing Liberty is to build the safest and most robust system that provides the shortest time to operation, using tested and proven human-rated components," said Kent Rominger, vice president and program manager for Liberty. "Liberty will give the U.S. a new launch capability with a robust business case and a schedule that we expect will have us flying crews in just three years, ending our dependence on Russia.
"Liberty will enable a successful commercial space program and result in a globally competitive capability that America doesn't have today," said Rominger. "This program is changing the way we do business and can also result in a positive change to government programs."
Liberty's test flights are expected to begin in 2014, with a crewed mission anticipated in late 2015. The current schedule will support crewed missions for NASA and other potential customers by 2016, with a price-per-seat that is projected to be lower than the cost on the Russian Soyuz rocket. more.....
School board discusses staff and public's wish list
The Box Elder School Board discussed suggestions last week from the public and staff members about what they want in area schools. In late April and early May, 70 community members and 82 staff members were brought together to answer the questions "What do you value about your school/district" and "What are the characteristics of a quality school." The information is still being evaluated and assimilated, but Superintendent Ron Wolff has posted the results on the district's website.
Wolff also summarized the results of ideas gleaned in the meetings in order of importance and presented them to the board. Most important to the groups was the desire to have quality adults working with students. Next was the desire that students have a variety of learning experiences.
Other ideas include efforts to make the school environment a safe place, both physically and emotionally, a good student to teacher ratio, having a traditional grading system, parent and community involvement, good technology, continued communication between school and community, effective leadership within the school and having high expectations for students and awareness of those having special needs.
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News Briefs
Epidemic declared
On Thursday, May 10, Bear River Health Department declared a Pertussis (whooping cough) epidemic at Harris Intermediate School in Tremonton.
An epidemic is declared when two students are confirmed as having Pertussis. All students who are not properly immunized are excluded from school until the health department notifies the district they can return.
With Pertussis, 21 days must pass before notification is possible. Twenty-five 6th and 7th graders without immunizations were told they could not return to school until notified.
