Regional Boards > Mountain West
I-70/Utah Welcome Center, RIP???
thenetwork:
Over the last couple of months, I've noticed some "changes" to the WB I-70 Rest Area/Welcome Center, located near Thompson Springs:
The "Welcome Center" portion of the Rest Area is now closed with a sign stating "CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE"
UDOT is currently replacing the large blue REST AREA/WELCOME CENTER/VENDING MACHINES signs with smaller, generic REST AREA signs...Both the old and new sets of bbs were standing next to each other as of last Tuesday (9/19).
Anyone know if they are planning to rebuild or remodel the older Rest Area, or does this mark the end of the Utah Welcome Center for I-70 West travelers?
I know it's not a very busy location due to the remoteness, but it contained a valuable source of information to those bound for Moab, Utah's National Parks and Salt Lake City.
US 89:
I have fond memories of that welcome center. When I was a kid, whenever we drove back to Salt Lake from Denver, we would always stop at that welcome center and hike up to the gazebo thing on top of the nearby hill. There's a picture of a ~6 year old me standing up there pointing at the cars on I-70 below.
The Ghostbuster:
Even if the welcome center is demolished, maybe they could build a new one closer to the Colorado/Utah border. Otherwise, you still have the Harley's Dome View Area to stop at.
US 89:
--- Quote from: The Ghostbuster on September 25, 2023, 11:20:54 AM ---Even if the welcome center is demolished, maybe they could build a new one closer to the Colorado/Utah border. Otherwise, you still have the Harley's Dome View Area to stop at.
--- End quote ---
That seems extremely unlikely. A fully functioning welcome center is going to need permanent water and electricity and I don't know that that sort of infrastructure even exists that far east. If the groundwork for utilities isn't set up out there yet, that is going to be quite expensive. Also something even further away from civilization is going to be even more expensive to operate.
If it truly is closing and they plan on replacing it, my bet is it'll be replaced by something west of Crescent Junction, perhaps right across from the existing eastbound rest area or even somewhere close to Green River. The advantage there is it also allows the welcome center to also serve traffic heading northwest from the US 191 or 491 corridor, which currently doesn't have a welcome center and is only served by a small unstaffed rest area about halfway between Moab and SR 46. The combined corridor welcome center concept is already used in Utah up near Brigham City, where they have one welcome center to serve both I-84 and I-15 instead of having two separate ones further north.
thenetwork:
--- Quote from: US 89 on September 25, 2023, 12:56:44 PM ---
--- Quote from: The Ghostbuster on September 25, 2023, 11:20:54 AM ---Even if the welcome center is demolished, maybe they could build a new one closer to the Colorado/Utah border. Otherwise, you still have the Harley's Dome View Area to stop at.
--- End quote ---
That seems extremely unlikely. A fully functioning welcome center is going to need permanent water and electricity and I don't know that that sort of infrastructure even exists that far east. If the groundwork for utilities isn't set up out there yet, that is going to be quite expensive. Also something even further away from civilization is going to be even more expensive to operate.
If it truly is closing and they plan on replacing it, my bet is it'll be replaced by something west of Crescent Junction, perhaps right across from the existing eastbound rest area or even somewhere close to Green River. The advantage there is it also allows the welcome center to also serve traffic heading northwest from the US 191 or 491 corridor, which currently doesn't have a welcome center and is only served by a small unstaffed rest area about halfway between Moab and SR 46. The combined corridor welcome center concept is already used in Utah up near Brigham City, where they have one welcome center to serve both I-84 and I-15 instead of having two separate ones further north.
--- End quote ---
I can't see UDOT building a new rest area on WB I-70 WEST of Crescent Junction, as then you are not helping travelers from Colorado obtain info on Moab and Arches NP.
What would make better sense if they would look to relocate the rest area and welcome center in the future, they could always build it between the Thompson Springs and Crescent Jct exits where the barely-used Ports of Entry/Weigh stations currently sit.
Better yet, to kill multiple birds with one stone:
Buy out the ugly neon-green Jackass Jerky tourist trap stand at Crescent Junction (the one with the waaay overpriced gas and paint peeling Scooby-Doo Van), build a really nice welcome center/rest area in it's place (expanded, of course to handle larger footprint) to serve both directions of I-70 and US-191 from the South. Normal-priced gas is at the Thompson exit. You can downgrade the current Rest Areas Into Utah's infamous View Areas, allowing for truck parking and simpler rest rooms.
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