An up-close view of the remains of the burned police car near 400 S. and 200 E. Photo: Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com, via Twitter
SALT LAKE CITY — Two lanes of 400 S. in downtown Salt Lake City remain closed Monday after peaceful protests turned violent and city leaders enacted a curfew for the weekend.
The eastbound lanes will take time to repair because of damage to the asphalt in the location where protesters set fire to a police car.
“An 11 foot by 20 foot piece of pavement needs to be replaced,” John Gleason, spokesman for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) said.
Police car set ablaze on 400 South 200 East on Saturday, May 30th. Picture taken by KSL Newsradio’s Paul Nelson.
“A contractor is going out today to examine the road,” Gleason said. “Then equipment has to be put in place before the repairs begin.”
Crews will keep the two left lanes heading east on 400 South closed near 200 East while the road is fixed, which could take up to six hours. However, Gleason said a right lane will remain open for traffic.
“Usually, we do this type of work in the overnight hours when there’s less traffic, but this is considered an emergency repair,” Gleason said.
Commuters wanting to avoid the traffic jams around the downtown library can take the Red Trax line of the Utah Transit Authority, but spokesman Carl Arky said they should expect to see damage.
This screen grab from video posted to Twitter shows the glass shattered at UTA’s Library Square Trax station. Photo/video: Jacob Klopfenstein, KSL.com
“The panels of glass were smashed, garbage receptacles were set ablaze and the cameras were destroyed at that stop,” said Arky.
It will take several days to replace everything, he added.
The good news, Arky said, is that the rail itself was not damaged by the vehicle fire. Trains are able to move through the area.
Arky said several bus stations were also damaged in the violence this weekend and need repairs.
