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Bettesworth Construction
detours

How to Choose a Safe Alternate Route Around SR-224 Construction

There is no universal detour around SR-224 construction. Check live UDOT conditions and choose only a route that fits your destination, vehicle, weather and driving experience.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 12 min read
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There is no single official vehicle detour that is safe or suitable for every trip around SR-224 construction. Before leaving, check UDOT’s current road status, cameras, travel-time displays and project updates. Then choose a route that fits your origin, destination, vehicle, weather and comfort with mountain driving. UDOT warns that some alternatives have steep grades, sharp curves and narrow sections; they are not suitable for large vehicles, RVs or trailers, or for drivers unfamiliar with mountain roads.

Start with the live road picture, not a navigation-app reroute

Construction conditions can change by segment and by day. A suggested reroute is not proof that a road is open, appropriate for your vehicle or a sensible match for your destination. Check UDOT’s Wasatch Back Road Information page shortly before departure. It provides current travel times, cameras, electronic road signs and road-status resources. Use those live sources to confirm what is happening on the roads you might take, and check again if conditions change during the trip.

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Also review the project update for the portion of SR-224 you need to use. The UDOT 2026 construction travel guide covers bus rapid transit work between Kimball Junction and Old Town, while the Marsac Roundabout–SR-248 project page covers a separate pavement-preservation project. A closure or lane shift on one segment does not necessarily mean the entire highway is closed, so identify where the work and restriction actually are.

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What the two projects can mean for a trip

The Kimball Junction–Old Town bus rapid transit work includes utility work, roadway widening, shoulder work, median removals and station installation. UDOT says periodic lane shifts, shoulder closures and changing traffic patterns are expected, with two lanes in each direction maintained whenever possible. “Whenever possible” is not a guarantee that every lane will remain open at every moment; use current signs and status information rather than assuming the usual layout.

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The BRT project is intended to support The Bobsled Express, nicknamed “The Bob,” which UDOT expects to begin service in 2028. That future service date does not tell you which lanes, shoulders or crossings are available on a particular travel day. For current trip planning, focus on present work-zone notices and road conditions rather than treating a long-term project milestone as a traffic update.

The separate pavement-preservation project runs from Marsac Roundabout to SR-248. UDOT says construction began August 3, 2026, with completion anticipated in late fall 2026. Planned work includes resurfacing, pedestrian-ramp and sidewalk upgrades, pavement marking and striping, sign replacement, limited signal work and landscaping restoration. Possible impacts include temporary lane and shoulder closures, traffic shifts, reduced work-zone speeds, nighttime paving noise and lighting, and temporary changes to pedestrian and bicycle routes. UDOT says access to homes, businesses, transit facilities and local destinations will be maintained, but that does not mean a traveler will encounter no delay or temporary traffic change.

The project page says milling and paving are planned overnight, generally from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., with work potentially continuing until 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Those are plans, not a day-specific promise. Check the current project information and roadside signs, especially if traveling at night or using a sidewalk or trail near the work zone. If your concern is a nighttime trip, consider both traffic changes and the possibility of work lights or paving noise; neither means the road is necessarily closed.

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Which alternate routes does UDOT name?

UDOT’s published alternate-route list is framed around heavy traffic in Parleys Canyon, not as a universal bypass for every SR-224 work zone. The agency says “Alternate routes are limited.” The routes it names may suit particular origins and destinations, but they can add distance or take a driver onto terrain that is a poor fit for the vehicle or conditions. No route in the list is identified as the safest or fastest for every SR-224 trip.

Route UDOT names What to understand before choosing it
SR-224 over Empire Pass / SR-190 over Guardsman Pass A mountain-road option, not a general-purpose bypass. UDOT warns of steep grades, sharp curves and some narrow lanes. Confirm live status and assess whether your vehicle and driver are suited to the road.
SR-65 at Mountain Dell Named by UDOT among limited alternatives for Parleys Canyon congestion. The guidance does not establish it as a universal SR-224 detour or give a guaranteed travel-time advantage. Check that it serves your actual trip and is open.
US-189 through Provo Canyon UDOT says this may suit some destinations. It is destination-dependent, not a blanket substitute for SR-224. Check current conditions and whether the route makes sense for the full trip.
I-84 through Weber Canyon Also described as an option for some destinations. It may not be useful for trips that do not align with that corridor; use live routing information and verify the route status.

These are options to evaluate, not instructions to divert automatically. UDOT’s guidance does not provide a quantified comparison of crash risk or guarantee a fastest route. Select based on current conditions and fit, rather than assuming that the longest-looking detour is safer or that a navigation app has accounted for every restriction.

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How to compare routes for your particular trip

Begin with the whole trip, not just the construction point. Write down or map your origin and destination, then identify the affected SR-224 segment. Ask whether a candidate actually takes you where you need to go, or simply moves you away from the visible queue while adding a long or unsuitable leg. UDOT’s mention of US-189 through Provo Canyon and I-84 through Weber Canyon is explicitly destination-dependent; it is not an instruction to use either corridor for every Park City-area trip.

Next, separate a delay from a closure. A lane shift, shoulder closure or reduced work-zone speed may make the normal route slower without making it unavailable. If the route remains open and is appropriate for your vehicle, a circuitous mountain alternative is not automatically the better choice. Conversely, if a road is closed, a navigation app’s willingness to draw a line over it is not permission to enter or bypass the closure.

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Finally, compare current information rather than relying on a remembered drive time. UDOT’s road page has live travel-time displays, cameras and electronic-sign information. The travel times shown when accessed are estimates reflecting the conditions at that moment, not promises about the duration of your trip. Recheck before departure, and if traffic or weather changes significantly, pause somewhere safe to reassess rather than making a last-second turn based on a stale estimate.

Check whether a mountain route is appropriate for your vehicle and driver

Guardsman Pass and East Canyon alternatives require particular caution. UDOT warns that they include steep grades, sharp curves and, in places, narrow lanes. Its guidance says these roads are unsuitable for semi-trucks and large RVs; the detailed alternate-route section also cautions against large vehicles, RVs, trailers and drivers unfamiliar with mountain roads. Do not treat a passenger-car route suggestion as evidence that a long vehicle, trailer or recreational vehicle can safely or legally use the road.

  • Vehicle size and combination: Consider the full vehicle length and whether you are towing. If the vehicle is large, an RV or a trailer combination, do not choose a mountain alternative UDOT warns against.
  • Road handling: Steep grades and sharp curves call for a driver comfortable with mountain roads and able to manage the vehicle on those grades. Narrow sections leave less room for error.
  • Weather and road status: Mountain conditions can affect whether a route is open. Confirm status immediately before setting out; do not rely on a map that may not reflect a new closure.
  • Trip purpose: A route that avoids one queue may not serve your destination efficiently. Compare the entire route, not just the section around the work zone.

Think of this as a suitability screen, not a scorecard. A route should pass each relevant check: it is open, it fits the vehicle, the driver is comfortable with the road characteristics, and it serves the destination. If you cannot verify one of those basics, do not assume that a favorable travel-time estimate outweighs the concern. UDOT does not publish a crash-risk ranking that would let drivers trade a difficult road for a particular quantified safety benefit.

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If any of those checks raises doubt, stay on a confirmed route suitable for your vehicle, follow posted directions, or delay departure if the issue is congestion from an incident. UDOT advises considering a later departure until incident traffic clears. Do not enter a closed road or bypass a closure sign to save time.

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Pay attention to the Guardsman Pass closure notice

At the time UDOT’s Wasatch Back homepage was accessed on October 13, 2026, it reported the SR-224 section at Guardsman Pass temporarily closed from 9:30 p.m. on October 12 because of winter conditions, with opening estimated for the morning of October 15. That was a live alert, not a standing schedule: it may no longer describe conditions when you travel. Check the UDOT Wasatch Back homepage and the UDOT seasonal roads page for current status.

UDOT says seasonal road openings and closures depend on snow and maintenance resources. These roads are typically closed from November through May or June, but the actual dates vary. Treat any estimated opening or typical seasonal window as context only; the current closure status and signs govern the trip. The October 13 alert is useful as an example of how quickly a mountain route can become unavailable, not as a forecast of when it will reopen in another year or during another storm.

Use the right detour for your travel mode

A vehicle detour is not a safe walking or cycling detour. High Valley Transit maintains a current map of multi-use trail and sidewalk closures and alternatives on its SR-224 BRT Construction Updates page. Check that map before setting out and follow posted signs, since construction routing can change.

Examples of signed trail and sidewalk alternatives

  • For the east-side McLeod Creek trail closure, the listed route uses the Millennium Trail, Bear Hollow Drive, Cooper Lane/Frostwood Trail and Canyons Drive.
  • At Cutter Lane or the Newark Boulevard underpass, the west-side Millennium Trail is identified as an alternative.
  • Around restrictions at Lame Dog Lane–Empire Avenue, listed alternatives include the SR-224 underpass and existing crosswalks.

These examples describe alternatives shown for particular restrictions; they are not interchangeable routes for every closure. Confirm the map for the exact point you need to pass, and use the signed route rather than walking or cycling through a work zone or along an unsuitable vehicle route. If you are planning a journey with multiple crossings or trail segments, verify each restriction along the way; a detour that gets you past one closure does not establish that the next connection is open.

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A practical route-selection check before departure

  1. Pin down the affected segment. Identify your origin, destination and the SR-224 section you need. Review the current UDOT project update for that segment so you are responding to the relevant work, not a different project farther along the road.
  2. Check whether your usual route is actually impaired. Use UDOT’s live road page, cameras, electronic signs and current status information. Distinguish a lane shift or shoulder closure from a full road closure.
  3. Confirm each candidate route is open. Check for closure and incident information immediately before departure. For mountain roads, verify seasonal and weather-related status rather than trusting an old listing or app suggestion.
  4. Match route to destination and vehicle. Assess whether SR-65, Guardsman Pass, US-189 or I-84 genuinely serves the trip. Rule out mountain options that do not suit your vehicle, trailer, experience or current conditions.
  5. Check mode-specific routing. If walking or cycling, use High Valley Transit’s current trail and sidewalk map and follow the signs for your closure. Do not adapt a car route into an active-transport detour.
  6. Recheck timing and conditions. UDOT’s displayed travel times are live estimates, not fixed trip-time promises. Check shortly before leaving and again if traffic or weather changes. When the cause is an incident and there is no suitable alternative, consider waiting for traffic to clear.

For a practical decision, first eliminate choices that fail an essential condition: closed roads, unsuitable vehicle dimensions, a route that does not serve the destination, or a driver who is not comfortable with the mountain-road demands. Then compare the remaining choices using current travel times and signs. This avoids treating the route with the shortest displayed estimate as automatically best when it conflicts with an official closure or vehicle-fit warning.

What the available information can—and cannot—tell you

Official sources describe project work, likely traffic impacts, current road information and possible alternatives. They do not establish a quantified crash-risk ranking among routes, a guaranteed fastest detour, or one route UDOT endorses as the safest way around all SR-224 construction. That means a responsible choice is conditional: confirm the road is open, make sure it suits your vehicle and driver, and use a route that serves your destination. If those conditions are not met, do not force the detour.

UDOT’s 2026 construction guide also describes broader Parleys Canyon work, including plans to repave 22 miles of I-80, improve eight bridges, install 11 miles of fiber-optic cable and upgrade nearly 50 miles of culverts. Those figures describe regional construction context, not a performance comparison of SR-224 alternatives. They do not establish how much time a particular driver will save or which route is safest. For an SR-224 decision, prioritize the current road condition and the specific project update affecting your segment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there one official detour around SR-224 construction?

No. UDOT’s alternate-route guidance is framed around heavy traffic in Parleys Canyon, and it says alternatives are limited. The suitable route depends on your origin, destination, vehicle, driver and current road status.

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Which alternate routes does UDOT list?

UDOT names SR-224 over Empire Pass/SR-190 over Guardsman Pass and SR-65 at Mountain Dell. It says US-189 through Provo Canyon or I-84 through Weber Canyon may suit some destinations. These are not universal SR-224 detours; verify that the route serves your trip and is open.

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Can an RV or trailer use Guardsman Pass or East Canyon as a detour?

UDOT warns that these alternatives have steep grades, sharp curves and some narrow lanes, and cautions against large vehicles, RVs, trailers and drivers unfamiliar with mountain roads. Do not treat an app route as confirmation that your vehicle is suitable.

How do I check whether Guardsman Pass is open?

Check UDOT’s current Wasatch Back road information, homepage alerts and seasonal-roads status shortly before departure. Closures can depend on snow and maintenance resources. An earlier opening estimate or typical seasonal window is not a guarantee of current access.

Does UDOT say which route is fastest or safest?

No quantified crash-risk comparison or guaranteed fastest detour is provided. UDOT does not endorse one route as the safest way around every SR-224 work zone. Use current conditions and route suitability to make a trip-specific choice.

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Where can I find a walking or cycling detour?

Use High Valley Transit’s current SR-224 BRT construction map for multi-use-trail and sidewalk closures and alternatives, then follow the signs on site. Vehicle routing recommendations are not substitutes for active-transport detours.

Are there still two lanes in each direction during the BRT work?

UDOT says two lanes in each direction will be maintained whenever possible, while also warning of periodic lane shifts, shoulder closures and changing traffic patterns. Check live information and signs rather than assuming every lane is open at every moment.

When is the Marsac Roundabout–SR-248 work happening?

UDOT says the pavement-preservation project began August 3, 2026, with completion anticipated in late fall 2026. Planned milling and paving are generally overnight, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., with work potentially continuing until 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings. These are plans, not guarantees for a particular date.

The Bottom Line

There is no universal safe detour around SR-224 construction. Check UDOT’s live road status, cameras, signs and project updates, then choose only a route that is open, suits your vehicle and driving experience, and serves your destination. Use High Valley Transit’s current signed trail and sidewalk alternatives for walking or cycling.

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