Nielson Construction, a Staker Parsons Co., is nearing completion of the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) $152 million rehabilitation of 53 mi. of State Routes 162 and 262 in San Juan County.
The project is upgrading pavement, drainage and safety features along a remote corridor serving local communities, the Navajo Nation, tourists and the region's energy industry.
Construction began on Aug. 13, 2024, with the project now in its final stages. Remaining work includes fencing, minor bridge work, signage, additional shoulder work and overall cleanup.
The project maintains the existing one-lane-in-each-direction configuration but widens the travel lanes from their previous dimensions to 12 ft. and expands shoulders to between 6 and 8 ft. It also includes a new roundabout at the SR 162/SR 262 intersection, replacement of the SR 162 bridge over McElmo Creek, a livestock crossing under SR 162, more than 50 cattle guards and a fiber-optic conduit.
“This project will make travel safer, smoother and more convenient for area residents; visitors traveling to Bear's Ears, Four Corners and the Hovenweep National Monuments and for workers serving the petroleum extraction industry in the region,” Devin Squire, UDOT's project manager, told Construction Equipment Guide. “This project has been in the planning stages for many years, with design completed eight years ago. We faced a bunch of challenges, including funding delays, COVID-19, significant inflation and right-of-way acquisition issues.”
The project received a Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Grant along with additional federal and state funding. The 53-mi. corridor passes through Bluff, Montezuma Creek and Aneth as well as the Navajo Nation. Average daily traffic is approximately 1,000 vehicles on SR 162 and 700 on SR 262.
Long-Overdue Rehabilitation
Sunrise Engineering
SR 162 and SR 262 were constructed in the late 1950s and had not undergone a major overhaul in more than six decades.
“Decades of use left the pavement rough, lanes narrow, shoulders minimal or nonexistent and guardrails outdated,” Squire said. “The SR 162/SR 262 intersection in Montezuma Creek was also an awkward, skewed junction. This corridor had gone more than 60 years without significant investment, despite serving as the main route for residents, tribal communities, tourists and energy-industry traffic.”
Ranching also influenced the project design.
“Ranching has been central to life in this part of San Juan County for generations, especially for Navajo families around Aneth and Montezuma Creek,” he added. “That's why the project installed more than 50 cattle guards and a dedicated livestock crossing under SR 162 — built specifically to keep livestock movement safe and reduce animal-vehicle collisions.”
Safety improvements are a major component of the work. Crews widened narrow shoulders, replaced the skewed intersection with a roundabout, added guardrail and signage, installed protected turn lanes and improved pavement markings. Rockfall risks along canyon sections of SR 262 near Bluff were addressed through cliff cutting.
Flash flooding was another major concern. The project rebuilt or improved several dozen culverts and flood-mitigation structures, including the new McElmo Creek bridge.
Horrocks Engineers designed the project.
“The design challenges included flash flooding issues, significant vertical design challenges, stream alteration permitting, multi-agency coordination, impacts to cultural sites and vast unchecked utility installations,” Squire said.
Construction Progress
Sunrise Engineering
Nielson Construction was awarded the contract in May 2024. By the end of 2025, approximately 70 percent of the paving was complete. The 150-ft.-long McElmo Creek bridge was completed in November 2025. Cattle guards were installed in January, guardrails were completed in April and the fiber-optic work finished in May. Roundabout lighting became operational in June and paving objectives for SR 162 and SR 262 were completed that month.
Jeremy Guyman, Nielson Construction's project manager, told Construction Equipment Guide that maintaining access along the corridor was one of the project's biggest challenges.
“The corridor serves schools, emergency services, residents, businesses and a substantial volume of heavy truck traffic, so careful coordination was essential,” Guyman said. “School access and student transportation were a particular priority. The project team worked closely with local schools to maintain access to school facilities and safely move students, parents, staff and buses through active construction areas.”
Multiple flagging operations also had to be coordinated.
“Managing multiple flagging operations was another challenge,” he added. “At certain stages of construction, motorists could potentially encounter as many as four separate flagging operations along the corridor. Without coordination, those stops could have resulted in significant delays and frustration. Construction crews and flagging teams coordinated activities between work zones and reinforced the expectation that traffic should be kept moving safely and efficiently, with delays limited as much as practical.”
Strategic staging helped Nielson keep work moving across the long corridor. Materials and equipment were positioned at multiple locations to reduce hauling distances and delivery delays.
The remote location presented another challenge. Cell and internet service was unreliable across much of the corridor, so the project team used Starlink satellite internet to maintain communications.
Tailoring Work to the Terrain
Sunrise Engineering
Nielson divided the project into areas based on the amount and type of work required. Some sections required extensive excavation, grading and reconstruction, while others primarily involved shoulder widening, grading or resurfacing.
“Because the work varied considerably throughout the project corridor, from significant excavation and earthwork to site preparation, paving, and more limited shoulder improvements,” Guyman said. “Excavation, site preparation and paving operations frequently occurred simultaneously at different locations. This approach allowed [us] to keep multiple portions of the project moving forward at the same time rather than completing one type of work throughout the entire corridor before beginning another.”
Nielson brought a portable asphalt plant to the project area and stockpiled aggregate and asphalt materials. The operation helped provide a consistent supply of paving material. The contractor's single-day paving record was 4,583 tons.
The project generated more than 630,000 cu. yds. of earthwork and more than 200,005 tons of asphalt production for 108 lane-mi. of roadway. Approximately 15 percent of the 200,005 tons of existing asphalt removed — about 30,000 tons — was recycled.
Nielson used Cat excavators ranging from 305s through 349s, D6 through D9 dozers, 930 through 980 loaders, a Cat 420 backhoe, Cat 637 scraper, 14M and 140M graders and a Cat articulated haul truck.
Roundabout, Bridge
The new roundabout was designed as a single-lane facility with wide shoulders to provide additional roadway width and accommodate active transportation. Its large footprint resulted from the angle at which SR 162 and SR 262 intersect.
The McElmo Creek bridge was constructed on a new alignment adjacent to the existing structure. That allowed the existing bridge to remain in service through most of construction.
“The replacement bridge was constructed on a new alignment adjacent to the existing bridge,” Guyman said. “This was a significant advantage because the existing bridge could remain in service through most of the construction of the replacement structure. The general construction approach began with traffic control, site preparation, excavation, environmental protection and establishment of construction access. Crews then constructed bridge foundations and abutments, placed the major structural girders, constructed the bridge deck and barriers, and completed the roadway approaches, drainage, paving and other associated improvements.”
The new bridge includes reinforced concrete foundations and abutments, structural concrete girders, reinforcing steel, a reinforced concrete deck, concrete parapets and asphalt approaches. Grove 80-ton cranes lifted the prefabricated girders into position. The bridge deck was completed with a monolithic pour using high-performance concrete.
The new structure also improves resistance to scour.
“The old bridge was built in a way that significant scour could potentially cause unstable pilings,” Squire said. “The new bridge also meets the latest shoulder and barrier shy distance requirement.”
Once the new bridge was completed, the existing structure was demolished over several days. Crews removed barriers and other ancillary components before breaking the deck into manageable sections and removing the remaining structural elements.
Subcontractors on the project included H&R Excavation for earthwork, CC Enterprises for traffic control, Horizon Environment for fencing and SWPPP, W.W. Clyde for bridge construction, Straight Stripe for striping and signing, Specialized Communication Services for fiber optics and Wall Concrete and Construction for concrete work.
With the major roadway, paving and bridge operations substantially complete, Nielson is focused on finishing the remaining work and preparing the upgraded corridor for full project completion.
