SR-150 Mirror Lake Highway Chip Seal

Owner: UDOT

General Contractor: Hales Sand & Gravel

Start Date: Summer 2025

Completion Date: Fall 2025

Subcontractors/Key Contractors:

• Coughlin Construction
• Premier Striping
• B&K Construction

Materials and Quantities Used:

• Utelite Chips: 2,136.02 Tons
• LMCRS-2 Chipping Oil: 505.8 Tons
• CQS Fog Oil: 132.71 Tons
• One inch State Spec Road Base for Shouldering: 60,975 Linear Feet

Project Description:

Hales Sand & Gravel completed the SR-150 Trail Lake Road to Sulphur project along the Mirror Lake Highway above Kamas, Utah. This UDOT project extended approximately 13.5 miles of SR-150 at elevations reaching 10,715 feet and required careful coordination within a limited summer construction season. The project included chip sealing, refreshed lane striping, updated signage and enhanced skid resistance to keep the mountain highway safe and reliable for years to come.

The work included milling the existing roadway surface followed by a chip seal application to improve pavement durability and extend the life of the roadway. Hales Sand & Gravel was selected to perform the chip seal, marking a milestone for both the company and UDOT. This is the first time Hales has chipped a road that required milling beforehand, and the first time UDOT has overseen chipping on a milled road project. While another contractor handled the milling, Hales was responsible for transporting the milled material off-site before beginning chip sealing operations. Hales worked closely with UDOT and subcontracting partners to complete the project efficiently while maintaining quality and safety. Snow pole delineators were installed along the corridor to assist snowplow operations during the short winter maintenance season before the roadway’s annual closure.

Safety awareness played a critical role throughout the project. While staged in a truck queue, three truck drivers noticed a small fire starting off the side of the roadway. They immediately exited their trucks and used shovels to extinguish the fire before it could spread, preventing a potentially serious incident in a remote high elevation area.

Quality and sustainability were also key considerations. Hales’ quality control team worked alongside UDOT to determine an effective oil application rate on the milled roadway surface to ensure proper coverage and chip retention. This project marked UDOT’s first chip seal application on a milled road surface. Early performance reports following completion indicated the roadway was performing well prior to the seasonal winter closure.

With this project, Hales Sand & Gravel not only helped extend the life of a vital mountain roadway, stretching from Trial Lake to Sulphur Campground, but also improved safety for motorists and set the stage for future innovations in chip seal applications.